Eternal Flames
by Hawklan
Summary: Halloween is over and Xander's mind and body is now filled with the magic and knowledge of quite a powerful wizard.
1. Chapter 1

img src="." alt="Eternal Flame" /

Eternal Flames

Authors: Hawklan and Razial  
>Beta: None this time so each error is our own.<p>

Based on a Banner and Idea by cloudleonsgurl  
>.orgStory-24255-246/cloudleonsgurl+The+Worlds+She+Never+

Disclaimer: BTVS belongs to Josh Whedon and Harry Potter to JKR. I don't make any money with it, it's just for fun so don't sue me, please.

Summary: Halloween is over and Xander's mind and body is now filled with the magic and knowledge of quite a powerful wizard.

Chapter 1

Xander woke up with a silent scream on his lips. It was dark all around him and without thinking he whispered a quite. "Lumos." Shocked he saw a small light glow over his right hand. He looked at it for a few moments and then mumbled, "Damn…it's true."

He looked around in the small light of the spell and noticed that he was lying in his own room on his own bed still dressed in the colorful robes he got for his costume last night. Slowly he pulled himself up a bit and then he held his head which was housing a dwarven heavy metal band at the moment and was pounding in the tact to their 'music'.

"Ouchy, ouch," he mumbled. He quickly used a small kind of meditation he remembered from somewhere and then the pain was gone and suddenly all was clear in his mind. He remembered in minute detail what had happened yesterday at Halloween, what had happened in his life and what had happened in the 150 plus years of one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore and it would be quite the understatement to say he was shocked of what he saw from the wizards life, especially the last couple of years.

Finally he stood up and spent a bit of energy trough nearly walking a hole in the floor while pacing up and down the room. After he had ordered the chaos in his head a bit more he smiled a smile an observer would call evil. "ETHAN MORDRED WILFRIED RYANE I curse you and when ever I'll get my hands on you I will find the deepest hell pit for you to spend eternity in Eternal Flames."

+E+

(Several miles away near LA)

Ethan was smiling to himself while he was driving his car to the outskirts of LA. He got away easily from Ripper and the evening went even better than he had thought. It was absolute chaos and it seemed like Janus had blessed his little prank. Now to give himself a small gift for his wonderful work he planned to visit Madam Cordette to spend a little fun time with the high class consort. While he was whistling in the expectations of the pleasures he soon would enjoy he suddenly paled and all color left his face as he heard a voice call "ETHAN MORDRED WILFRIED RYANE I curse you and when ever I'll get my hands on you I will find the deepest hell pit for you to spend eternity in Eternal Flames."

Shocked from hearing the voice he didn't notice that his car drifted into the other lane until he was blinded by the bright lights of a trucks front headlights.

+E+

(Sunnydale, Xander's room)

After he let out that small curse Xander felt a small pull inside himself, but he didn't really paid too much attention to it. He quickly checked the fake wand he had used last night and found out to his misgivings that it had turned back to a simple wooden stick, which was even to thin to use as a stake.

So he had several things to do now he concluded and put them on a mental list.

Go to LA

Get access to Dumbledore's secret account at Gringotts

Buy Lemon drops

Buy a Wand

Train his body up to use his new magic and to integrate Dumbledore's knowledge.

Talk to Rupert Uther 'Ripper' Giles, Slytherin of 75

Think about what to do about the situation in good old England.

With those things on his mind he quickly dropped the colorful robe, took a quick shower and then dressed in a black jeans and the most colorful Hawaiian shirt he had in his possession. Looking at himself in the mirror he really enjoyed the view and then he quickly pulled a Twinkie out of his secret stash and enjoyed the mind-blowing taste of it.

After this highly important act was done he concentrated a moment and with a loud 'plop' he disappeared out of his room and arrived only a moment later at the Apparition Point of the LA Magical District. He stumbled a bit and took quite a moment to gather himself and he saw that the theory of Apparition was easier than actually doing it, but then he quickly went through the hall of the run down motel and then stepped into the District. Seeing it for the first time in real and not only from memories he enjoyed the view for a few moments until he let his steps take him to the local branch of Gringotts.

He studied the Goblins which stood guard at the door for a while and then with a smile stepped into the bank. Inside he looked around until he saw a goblin that was currently not occupied with a wizard. He took a small breath and then stepped up to the goblin, which looked up as the young man stepped in front of him.

The goblin looked at the young man for a moment and had to wince for a second at seeing the shirt the young man was dressed in. 'What was it with wizards and colorblindness? He would never understand them,' he thought and in the hopes to get rid of the human quickly he said. "Yes, how can I help you Sir?"

The young man smiled at him and replied, "Hello Mr. Goblin. I am Alexander Lavelle Harris and I would like to have access to Vault 42."

The Goblin was shocked for a second. 'All Vaults under 100 were high security vaults and old. How could a young man like that have access to one of them?' he thought for moment but then went business like again. "Key please, Sir."

The young man smiled at him and then shook his head. "As you know there are no keys for those vaults and only someone who knows how can enter one. If you would provide me a ride to the vault I'll do the rest and I also need a normal account which I plan for everyday uses and I also need an option to pay in the muggle world with it."

The Goblin nodded, still surprised the young man passed the Key test and replied, "No problem one of my fellow Goblins will bring you to the vault and at the time you'll return the details for the new account will be done."

Xander smiled again and then followed the Goblin who was there to escort him to the vault. A high speed rollercoaster like drive later Xander enjoyed quite a lot they reached the vault. Xander stepped out of the cart and said to the Goblin, "If you would wait here until I've disabled the security of the vault that would be nice. Afterwards I need you to transfer a bit to my new vault."

The Goblin only nodded in reply and stayed at the cart while Xander went to the door. He quickly disabled several security features and traps that protected the vault and then he stood in the direct center of the door and smiled as he read the inscription over the vault. Silently he mumbled, "Dumbledore you were such a geek." He smiled to himself and then said loudly, "Mellon".

With a loud grumble the door to the vault opened and Xander went quickly inside. He looked around in astonishment at all the things Dumbledore had stored here. After he pulled himself back together he took a bag from one of the tables and filled it with quite a few things he thought he would need in the near future and so things like books, jewelry, weapons, and a water like basin vanished into the bag which didn't seem to fill up.

After he was finished he stepped out of the vault again and called the Goblin to him. "Thank you for waiting. If you would follow me I'll show you what I want transferred to my new account."

They quickly went into the vault and a short amount of time later a huge amount of gold was transferred to his new account by the Goblin and finally a satisfied Xander left the bank again with a bag on his shoulders, a debit card that will work in the muggle and most of the magical world and a money punch for use in the magical world in his pockets.

He wandered through the alley for several hours and bought a lot of things he might need for his training and other things, but the most important thing he found after a while was a self refilling bag of lemon drops. Each time it was emptied it would refill itself for a small fee to the inventor of it.

Smiling happily he finally entered 'McLeod's Wand shop since 1709'. A quite young and beautiful witch with long raven black hair smiled at him. "Good day to you. How can I help you sir?" she asked him.

Xander smiled at the young woman and then replied, "Uhmm I would need a new wand. I kinda lost my old one."

The young witch looked at him in surprise and said, "You lost your wand? How did you manage to do that?"

Xander blushed a bit and then replied. "You know I was experimenting on a new potion and while I tried a new component I had to sneeze and dropped my wand into the cauldron. There wasn't much left of it or the cauldron afterwards."

The witch shook her head in astonishment and smiled. "Interesting, so let's try to find a wand for you."

Quite a while later they finally had found a wand that suited Xander. After he had paid for it he quickly returned to Sunnydale with it and everything else he had bought.

+E+

(Sunnydale, a month later)

Xander had used every moment he could in the last month without raising any suspicions from his friends to train his body to the use of magic. Finally he was satisfied with what he had reached so far and so he went to the next point on his 'to do' list and so he entered the library. His timing was perfect because only Giles was in it at the moment.

With a smile he pulled his wand out and spoke silently a few spells to secure the library against eavesdroppers and such things.

Giles feeling the magic used not far from him jumped around and looked confused as he saw only Xander standing near the table they used for research. "Xander?" he asked.

"Ahh Mr. Giles, we need to talk," the young man said in a tone and voice that suddenly reminded him of his old Headmaster.

"Xander, what is going on and why the fake British accent?" Giles inquired with a frown. "Is this some kind of new attempt to annoy me?" he asked with a slight growl to show he was not amused.

"Nothing like that Giles, believe me," Xander responded with a shake of his head. "I wish it was something so simple as that, but in a point of fact we have a major issue to discuss and it concerns your past and what Ethan did to us during Halloween," he told him.

Giles eyed the young man in front of him and for the first time took note that Xander looked far more serious than he had ever seen him before, maybe this was more than a prank at his expense. Indicating Xander should sit down he took a seat at the table and waited until Xander was seated and faced him.

"Now please, tell me what is going on?" Giles stated.

"Ethan as you know turned everyone into their costumes for the night, right? What you don't know is that he turned me into someone you knew back in the old days," Xander explained.

"Who?" Giles demanded suddenly filled with dread as he had known a lot of very underhanded people back in his youth and each of them was dangerous to the extreme and in some cases worse.

"Albus Dumbledore," Xander answered. "And the hard part is I have access to his entire life, his memories and his magic," he informed him. "It hasn't faded as it did for everyone else," he stated, running a hand through his hair while frowning.

Giles face paled dramatically as he heard Xander's reply and memories he had thought long buried surfaced again. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to distract himself from this horrible truth. 'Why in Merlin's name had Ethan used clothes from that man's attire? What did he hope to accomplish or was this just some sick attempt at payback? Was he the reason that the young man in front of him would be cursed with having the memories and life experience of such a dark soul stuck inside him?' he wondered.

"Please tell me you are joking Xander," he almost pleaded in an effort to keep this truth from being real just a little longer.

Xander let out a sigh as he leaned back in his chair. "I wish I was Giles, I really do but this is as real as it gets," he told him understanding Giles reluctance to take what he had said at face value. "I can prove it by telling you that you once attended Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and was an absolvent of Slytherin House of 75," he told him with a grim smile on his face as he noted Giles paled even more. "At first things went well for you until you began to notice strange things going on and the rather alarming behavior of Headmaster Dumbledore especially towards yourself," he continued knowing this had to be painful for Giles to hear, but he knew it was the only way to convince him of the truth of what he had told him. "Hadn't your father intervened and pulled you out of the school right after your Newts I don't doubt your path would have been a dark and horrible one. All because of Dumbledore's plans for you," he finished.

Giles sunk into his seat and wished this was nothing more than a nightmare. His past was once again coming back to bite not only him, but his young charges as well. Still he took note of what Xander had said of the old man's plans for him. 'What exactly did he mean?' he wondered, but then decided that could wait for another time.

"I believe you Xander," Giles finally spoke up after forcing down his emotions on this matter and suppressing his memories of those events as best as he could under the circumstances. "This is disturbing, the old man was far more dangerous than anyone knew and the idea that you have in effect his essence inside you is disquieting to say the least," he told him. "Are you certain these memories and abilities will not fade?" he inquired.

"It already has been a month and a half Giles," Xander pointed out. "This is not going to fade and while I could do without the old man's memories I think having his abilities might be an advantage for us, but I need help to gain complete control over them," he went on after pausing for a few moments while thinking how to fraise what he wanted to say. "I mean it could be a big help to us on patrol and make life easier for Buffy," he pointed out. "I just have to ensure I'm in control of the power now within me and not it of me," he stated.

"Xander while I admit what you say is true I don't believe you have taken into account just how much that power can change a person," Giles cut in before Xander could continue. He hoped to ensure Xander thought long and hard about this. "I've seen it turn people into despicable and truly evil beings. I've seen what power can do to people and I've fought that same battle myself and I was lucky to save myself from that damnation," he warned.

"I know the danger Giles. I've seen just how dark those who lust for power can become," Xander responded finally after five minutes of deep thought. "But I don't want power. I just want to help Buffy and keep people safe," he stated with deep conviction.

"Very well Xander if you are completely sure about this I will help you gain complete control of your new abilities, even if it has been sometime since I've used them myself," Giles finally agreed after noting Xander meant everything he had just said. "It won't be a fast road either. I will take no chances of you rushing things," he told the young man in front of him. "We'll discuss what you meant by Dumbledore's plans for me at another time, first I believe we should alert Buffy to your new status," he continued.

"What new status Giles?" Buffy's voice shocked both men and caused them both to spin around to find the blond haired Slayer behind them. "What is going on?" she asked, noting the surprise and in Xander's case wariness her questions caused.

"Ah Buffy," Giles responded unsure what to say.

"He means Buffy that I still have a side effect from what that moron Ethan did during Halloween," Xander spoke up when he noted Giles seemed to be at a loss for words. "For some odd reason I seem to have kept the abilities and memories of the person I was dressed as," he told her, surprising Buffy who quickly moved and joined them at the table.

"What kind of abilities Xander?" Buffy asked, partly worried what kind of effect this may have on her friend and partly pleased to know he may finally have something to help during patrol.

She had long been worried about Xander's eagerness to help her on patrol without any real skills to help, then again Willow, Cordelia and Oz also had little to offer except their wiliness to help her. They had no real combat skills which in hindsight was something she could have corrected, as could have Giles had they really thought about it. She decided she would attempt to correct it later on. Angel, Jenny and Giles each had skills that could help on patrol, but she still worried they could get hurt helping her fulfill her duty.

"Magic Buffy, I can do magic now," Xander's answer broke through her wandering thoughts and made her turn her attention back to him.

Buffy glanced at Giles and noted him nod his head in agreement. This was something she had not expected to learn today. Her friend's life had just suddenly changed, although clearly he had known this for sometime. She couldn't help but wonder why he had waited to come forward and tell them this and so she leaned forward and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Why have you waited till now to tell us this?" she inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"To be honest I didn't know what to do at first," Xander let out a sigh before he answered, understanding Buffy was a little miffed with him. "I was certain it would fade like it had for everyone else affected by Ethan's spell," he told them both. "When it didn't fade after a week or so I began to worry and then I realized this could be a benefit for us all, especially on patrol," he explained. "I finally have something to offer on patrol, I can help keep people safe and watch your back with far more success than before," he said, locking his gaze on Buffy who did her best not to blush at the concern she saw in his eyes for her.

Xander's feelings for her were well known in the group and even though she had already turned him down once before during the spring fling dance she couldn't help but wonder if she had been wrong to do so. Had she allowed her passing fancy with Angel blind her to the possibility of a real passionate romance? Then there was the fact that he had gone to save her life when the Master killed her, even going against a prophecy which had said she would die. Time and again she wondered what could have been had she said yes. He clearly cared for her more than she had first thought, considering the risks he had taken to help her.

He had also been the only one to refuse to accept the prophecy of her death, which showed his true character far more than anything else. He had been willing to die to attempt to save her and she had repaid him by speaking Angel's name and basically ignoring Xander's presence. Worse she had used him to make Angel jealous when she had come back from visiting her father. She had lapped danced him and then asked a really spiteful question before walking off. It wasn't her proudest moment and to be honest she felt shame at how she had used him, he had not deserved it.

Glancing at Xander after looking away to gather her thoughts she wondered why he continued to help her. After acts of cruelty like that why did he continue to risk his life for hers? Was it possible he still loved her? Or was it him just being a good friend and the more important question was did she want him to be still be in love with her?

"Buffy?" Xander asked a bit unnerved by her continued silence. "Are you okay with this?" he asked.

Buffy remained silent as she looked at her friend and tried to figure out what to say to him. Suddenly things that had been so certain were now looking more and more uncertain and subject to change. Her feelings for Angel while strong are probably not true love. He was her fantasy and maybe one that was not all that good for her. She knew Giles was revolted by her interest in the souled vampire and she knew Jenny Calendar was concerned by her closeness to him, and she knew without a doubt her mother, if she knew the truth, would be horrified. The only support she had for the relationship was from Willow and now she was uncertain if that was from true support or an attempt by the redhead to keep her away from Xander who she knew Willow was deeply infatuated with. She almost let out a frustrated growl from these new thoughts and so she pushed them away and refocused on the question on hand.

"I'm okay," Buffy finally said with a smile. "And if you think this new magic ability will really help and as long as Giles thinks it is a good thing then I have no objections to you using it on patrol," she told him, which caused a relieved smile to appear on Xander's face.

"Xander has agreed to let me train him fully to control his new gifts Buffy," Giles explained, pleased to see Buffy actually had thought things through before reacting. "I will ensure he does not get in over his head. I also suggest we begin training him to handle himself without his magic," he suggested. "It seems a huge oversight now, but as we have quite a few of your friends helping now and none of them can really handle themselves it makes sense to train them," he continued.

"I was thinking something similar just a few minute ago," Buffy responded, thankful Giles had brought it up and saving her from bringing it up herself. "I agree, we have been lucky none of them have been killed due to not being fully able to handle themselves," she admitted. "I suggest we let the others know tonight when we meet before patrol, then we can see how well Xander's magic works and what he can do and what he needs to learn," she stated.

"Agreed Buffy," Giles said while Xander just nodded, pleased this meeting had gone so well as he had expected far more of a uphill struggle to keep his new abilities.

"Now if you will excuse me I really need to go have a good long think," Buffy said almost absently. "I'll see you later," she added, briefly meeting Xander's eyes before she turned and exited the library.

Xander watched her go, wondering why Buffy suddenly looked so confused and unsure, well hopefully if it was anything important she would tell him in time. Hopefully it had nothing to do with Angel, listening to things about the souled vampire were not high on his list of things to do. Giles leaned back in his chair and began to discuss the nature of the training he would put Xander through. Xander listened carefully hoping once he had fully mastered his new abilities he would be a great asset to Buffy during patrol and then there were still things in England he need to have a talk with Giles about.

Note: I know I know. I should have worked on one of my still open fics, but after seeing the banner above, it just didn't let me rest and so you just read the result and I also have dragged Razial into the boat which doubled the chapter size.

cloudleonsgurl I hope you liked what my mind came up with so far...and if you have wished for the fic just drop me a line.


	2. Chapter 2

Written again by Razial and Hawklan

Note: This chapter isn't beta read again, so if we and Word missed a few things point them out nicely and we'll fix them.

Chapter 2

(Summer's Residence)

Buffy sat curled on her bed still working through the rather shocking results of the conversation she had with Giles and Xander. Her mind was muddled and she was for once unsure on where she stood on several subjects. She let out a sigh as she heard a noise from in front of her, refocusing she looked up and noted her mother standing by the door looking at her with concern.

"Are you alright Buffy?" Joyce inquired as she moved to sit on the edge of her daughter's bed.

"I really don't know anymore Mom," Buffy admitted after a few minutes. "I had a real intense conversation today with Giles and Xander and it ended up shattering so many of my previously held beliefs," she explained as she looked her mother in the eye. "It made me start thinking about things I never really did before," she added with a frustrated shake of her head.

"What kind of things?" Joyce asked and was trying to work out what exactly had made her daughter have such deep thoughts.

Buffy looked away unsure how to explain the full measure of her new thoughts. As long as her mother remained unaware of her role as the Slayer and the roles her friends played in her life she couldn't really tell her the whole truth. Sometimes she felt like ignoring the need for secrets all together and to confess everything to her mother. The only thing that kept her from doing so was the fear of how her mother would react.

"Mainly if I was right to turn down Xander when he asked me out back during Spring Fling and if I have been fooling myself with my current boyfriend who I know is nothing more than a fantasy," Buffy finally answered. "I also began to sort of question Willow's support of my current boyfriend," she added.

"What do you mean?" Joyce asked gently as even though hearing her daughter actually admit to having a boyfriend caught her by surprise, she knew to keep herself in check as this was the first time in a while that she had seen her daughter willing to let her in.

"Willow has always fancied Xander and while before I never questioned her support of my boyfriend, now I can't help but think of it as a way of keeping me away from Xander. Who as you know has feelings for me or at least I think he still has them for me," Buffy responded. "I don't want to think Willow can be that petty and yet something inside me tells me it is possible that she would do it," she said, letting out another sigh and began to play with a strand of her hair.

Joyce frowned, unsure of how to really respond to this as she was truly fond of both Willow and Xander. Both had been good friends to her daughter since they had come here.

"Are you questioning whether you actually really do feel something for Xander more than friendship?" she asked carefully.

"I don't know," Buffy replied quickly. "I really don't, it's like all my emotions are in conflict," she explained as best she could. "I do know I am questioning if staying with my boyfriend is good for me. I'll deal with my other conflicting thoughts later on," she decided.

"Listen to your heart Buffy. When you next see Xander and Willow truly look at them and let it guide your choices," Joyce advised her. "As for your boyfriend, if he really is bad for you and you know that or at least are beginning to think that, then I suggest breaking up for the time being, while you sort out your feelings," she stated. "Sometimes pulling away from the source of your problem can give you a clearer perspective on it," she added with a smile as she ran her hand through her daughter's hair before getting up and leaving, hoping she had helped.

Buffy watched her go, feeling only slightly better than she had done before their talk, but maybe her mother was right. Maybe stepping away from Angel would allow her to focus more and work out what she should do. Shaking off those thoughts for now she decided it was time to start getting ready for patrol. She was looking forward to see what Xander could do now and she was certain tonight would be eventful.

+E+

(Giles Residence)

Giles sat drinking from a glass of scotch while he looked at a book of photographs he had not seen in years. The images were moving unlike regular photos as they were magical. He had not looked at them since he had put them away. However Xander's admission had made him slightly reflective of that part of his life. It was not one of his favorite times to think of, and yet he had some good times as well. Finishing his drink he looked at the final photo which had been taken just before his father had removed him from Hogwarts. In it his younger self stood waving at the camera with his arm around a young woman he had fallen in love with.

Bellatrix had been a wild yet passionate young woman who had drawn him in. He hadn't felt that way again until Jenny had come into his life. Looking at her he remembered that once he had been so very sure he would marry her one day. However that had not happened, even before he was pulled from Hogwarts he had noted he was losing her. The growing following of Voldemort had captured Bellatrix's interest for reasons he had never found out. Their last conversation had broken down into a massive argument and before he could apologize he had left with his father. He sometimes wondered what had become of her. Was she still alive or had she died in the war that had fallen on the Wizarding world thanks to Voldemort? Putting the book down he got up and decided it was time to prepare for the night ahead. He had to see how much Xander now knew and just what he could do with the magic he now possessed.

+E+

(Harris Residence) 

Xander watched as the sun finally began to fade and the night began. He felt slightly nervous about how the patrol would go and he prayed that he wouldn't make a fool out of himself, especially after how his conversation with Buffy and Giles had gone this morning. He hoped to finally prove his worth as a part of the group. He took a deep breath before he turned to head for the door to leave the house.

"You're going out Alex?" Jessica Harris inquired coming up behind him.

"Yeah Mom, I'm meeting Buffy and the others at the school before going to the Bronze," Xander answered, as he turned to face her and doing his best to ignore the snoring noises coming from the living room. Clearly his father was passed out already from too much drink, but both he and his mother preferred him to be like this than him being awake.

"Well, be careful, you know I don't like you being out at night for long," Jessica reminded him to which he nodded before he left.

Jessica watched him go with a sigh knowing her son would never turn down an opportunity to see his friends, especially the blond Buffy Summers. She was not blind to the fact that he had deeper feelings for Buffy than he had admitted to her and she hoped one day he would actually admit that love and if he did she wished him better luck than she had in that regard.

+E+

(Rexton Graveyard, an hour later) 

Xander walked beside Buffy and as they moved through the graveyard, Giles was behind them with Willow and Oz. Cordelia had refused to come with them as she had a party to attend with her supposed friends. However Jenny Calendar had agreed to come with them after Giles's invitation. Xander couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Giles and Jenny continue to grow closer. It had been happening since the two had met and he was certain this time Giles would find true love.

His memories from Dumbledore clearly showed him the past relationship Giles had once had with Bellatrix Black. He wondered if he should tell Giles what his former lover had become after he had left the magical world. Somehow he doubted it would go down well. He surmised that no matter how much time had passed Giles still felt something for the woman.

"Any targets in range, Buffy?" Giles inquired, pausing his conversation with Jenny for a second.

"Not yet Giles, it's kinda strange as usually I can find them easily," Buffy responded, clearly annoyed at the lack of action. "Maybe they are having a quite night for once," she suggested without any real belief.

"As if," Xander snorted, unable to help himself. "Maybe they are trying to stay out of our way or more specifically your way, Buffy," he mused aloud. "I mean they got to have noted they are getting their asses kicked since you got into town plus they lost the Master and the Annoying one as well," he pointed out with a smile at Buffy, which almost made her blush at his show of faith in her.

"While I see your point Xander, vampires are not really known for being smart," Giles responded. "Plus they always have the numeric advantage," he reminded them. "That alone makes them dangerous and more than willing to engage us in combat," he warned.

"It is also possible they have some kind of plan in the works to try and catch us off guard," Jenny suggested into the small silence that had fallen after Giles finished talking.

The others all stopped and turned to look at the techno pagan for a second or two before they continued onwards. Each knew she had made a very good point. The vamps could very well be up to no good and so Buffy tried to widen her senses, but still she could find no vamps in the general area much to her frustration.

"Maybe they are at a different graveyard?" Willow suggested. "I mean this town does have a lot of the bloody things," she pointed out.

"Yeah I think Wills has got a point," Xander stated as he ran a hand through his hair. "This place is dead, we should move on," he proposed.

The others agreed and they turned and headed out of Rexton and towards Wilson, the next graveyard over. Buffy kept a close eye out on their surroundings, but still she felt nothing.

+E+

(Wilson Graveyard)

A large group of vampires numbering at least twenty waited in the shadows for their scout to return, they had waited weeks to put their plan into motion. A plan to finally kill not only the Slayer, but also her meddling friends, they had scouted the group week after week to learn their patrol routes and to also see what kind of abilities and powers they were truly up against. They were confident they could win with the numbers they now possessed. They would show the so called legendary William the Bloody and his insane girlfriend how it was done. They would succeed where they had failed.

"Look here comes Vincent," one of the vampires said, alerting them to the incoming vampire.

"At last, it seems our plan can finally go ahead and soon we'll be legends in our own right," the leader of the group mused with a wicked smile on his face.

"You don't know if our plan will work Toran," one of the other vampires argued. "The Slayer killed the Master and has beaten Spike and Drusilla at every turn. They have also killed some of the most deadly demons as well," he pointed out.

Toran growled low in his throat before he rammed his hand through the underling's chest and dusted him. He glared at the other vampires who warily looked at him.

"I will not accept any cowardice from any of you. If you dare to doubt my plan then you better leave or I will kill you too," Toran warned them all, but none of the others dared to say anything much to his satisfaction.

"The Slayer and her friends come," Vincent reported once he reached them and stopped anything else from happening. "But the busty Cheerleader is not with them, it is the Gypsy bitch instead," he continued. "Plus there is no sign of Angelus," he finished.

"Without her friends the Cheerleader should be easy pray and as for the coward Angel, well he will be dealt with in time," Toran snarled, not really caring which members of the group were actually present when they attacked. "Take your positions," he ordered.

Buffy paused just as she reached the gateway into the Wilson graveyard, her eyes narrowed as she pulled a stake out of her back pocket. However Angel's sudden appearance made her relax somewhat, clearly not an enemy and yet she felt uncomfortable as he neared her. Her new found thoughts on him made her back away slightly. Angel seemed to notice her hesitation and stopped.

"Is something wrong, Buffy?" he inquired not used to her being so hesitant around him.

"I'm just on edge a little, thanks to the patrol been mostly silent," Buffy lied half heartedly. "We've seen no vamps yet," she added with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Well then I guess it is a good thing I noted a group of them move into an ambush position ahead of you, isn't it?" Angel responded. "I was coming to find you anyway and I noted a runner, I followed him and noted the group he met up with," he explained.

"How many?" Buffy asked, thankful for not only a distraction about her new nervousness around Angel but also for the chance to work off her building frustration.

"Seventeen or more, at least that is how many I managed to count without getting to close to them and alerting them to my presence," Angel answered.

"That's a lot of vampires," Oz mused. "Too many for us to take on," he pointed out.

"Usually I would agree Oz, but Xander has gained some new abilities that may help us," Giles cut in before anyone could say anything else. "I suggest we break up into groups, Buffy and Xander will head into the graveyard first, while we maneuver around them to hit them from the sides," he suggested. "If we hit them from three different sides and ensure each one has a magic user than it should give us an edge," he stated to which Buffy and Jenny nodded in agreement.

Xander shifted a little unsure how to feel about this, but he was determined not to let them down. Angel wanted to protest the idea of Buffy being paired with Xander of all people, but it seemed his girlfriend had already agreed to the plan. Quickly they were split up into three groups. Giles and Jenny made one group, while Angel was paired with Willow and Oz. Of course the final group was Buffy and Xander, who had already pulled his wand and tried to remember every useful spell he could think of that would be good against vampires.

"You ready for this Xan?" Buffy inquired glancing at him, just as Angel moved off having failed to catch Buffy's eyes to question her choice of partner.

"As I'll ever be, don't worry Buffy I won't let your down," Xander swore with as much confidence as he could muster before they both began to walk into the graveyard.

"I know," Buffy responded with a small smile before her senses went haywire, alerting her to the vampires Angel had said were close by. "Heads up, we're about to have company," she warned him as she pulled another stake out and readied her two weapons for the fight ahead.

Xander brought his wand up as the vampires began to appear, some jumped out of nearby trees, while others came out of the bushes. He quickly shouted "Incendio" a few times and watched in satisfaction as five of the rapidly approaching vampires were roasted. Their screams echoed in the night before the fire turned them to dust. Buffy was amazed at the power Xander had shown, but before she could say or do anything she was forced into combat by two of the vampires.

Giles and Jenny made their appearance from behind, both struck out with a much weaker flame spell than Xander's, yet it did enough to dust another three of the vampires. Angel rushed out and took down another with a stake from behind before two more attacked him. Willow and Oz tried to find a target for their crossbows, but had to be careful not to hit any of their friends. Buffy ducked the wild swings from what she guessed was the leader of this particular group.

He was strong, she would give him that, but he was reckless in his attacks. She lashed out with a back kick and knocked him backwards. Quickly turning around she slammed one of her stakes into his follower. Her aim was true and the vamp instantly dusted, turning back she barely missed the return strike of the leader. Lashing out again, this time her attack was countered and she was forced back. Xander unleashed another Incendio before following up with a silently cast spell. The Incendio, but the second spell hit three more vamps freezing them where they stood.

Willow and Oz quickly moved to shatter the three now frozen vampires, while Angel did his best to cover them with help from Giles and Jenny, who's magic did just as much damage as Xander's did. Another two vampires were turned to dust by their flame spells. Angel staked another as Willow and Oz smashed the three frozen vampires. This left only seven vampires who began to hesitate in their attacks. This allowed Xander to roast another while Buffy flung one of her stakes and caught another unaware as it tried to attack Angel.

Buffy however paid for her act as the leader came back and knocked her down with a road house kick. She rolled back to her feet and thrust her foot out in a sweeping kick which knocked the vampire back down and she quickly followed it up by staking him. As soon as he dusted the other vampires ran, having seen their leader killed clearly had broken their spirits.

"Well that was fun," Buffy quipped with a smile, feeling much better now that she had managed to work off her frustration. "Good plan Giles," she added to which Giles nodded in response, pleased his strategy had worked.

"Since when can you do magic, Xander?" Willow hissed as she moved to her friend's side, annoyed at seeing Xander being able to do something she could not.

"Ever since Halloween, although this was my first time using it during patrol," Xander answered barely repressing a sigh. He should have guessed his red headed friend might be pissed by his new talent.

"This is not the place to have this conversation. We'll return to the library and go over what we have learned," Giles interceded before this could go any farther.

"Nice flame spells Xander," Jenny said as they began to head out. "I was surprised when Giles told me about your new ability and slightly concerned you might not be able to control it," she admitted. "However you seem to have a firm grasp on it," she added.

"Maybe, I am still unsure if I have full control or not," Xander told her. "That's why I asked Giles for help," he explained. Jenny nodded before going silent. Buffy moved to Xander's side before Angel could corner her, this left him to talk to Willow who glowered at Xander's back.

+E+

(Sunnydale High, Library)

They had reached the library without meeting any more problems a while later. Each time Angel tried to talk to Buffy on the way she was either talking with Giles or Xander and so he gave up a bit frustrated not knowing what was up. Normally Buffy had only eyes for him as soon as he appeared and so this change confused him.

While Giles and Jenny stored the weapons in their locker the others sat down at their 'research' table. In quite an annoyed tone Willow burst out, "So Xander care to tell me why you never told me you could do magic since Halloween?"

Xander only shrugged his shoulders and ignored Willows tone. "We haven't seen each other a lot since then and when we did it somehow never came up."

"It never came up?" Willow said a bit enraged than before. "You...you..." she started to continue, but was interrupted by Giles who just got back to the table together with Jenny.

"That's quite enough for now Willow. It's late and you can talk about it later with Xander. For now Xander you have done well. It seems like that you can use the gained knowledge quite well, even in a combat situation. Using Incendio on the vampires was a good idea, but I was surprised by the second spell you used silently. The vampires looked like they were frozen and I have never seen something like that before. Also it is good to see that the training on silent casting you did worked out quite well."

"Wasn't really too hard Giles, as you know all the knowledge is there and normally I only need to try the things a few times until I can do them quite well. I only train them more to get a grip on the energy I spent on the casting and to answer your question in regards of the spell. Dumbledore played a bit with the Incendio years ago and created spells to use the other elements in the same regard as Incendio. He just never shared them like he did with a lot of things."

Giles nodded at that and said, "It really looks like the Headmaster never shared a lot of things. What are your plans now?"

Before Xander good answer that Willow spoke up. "Created spells? Dumbledore? Headmaster? What are you talking about?"

"I'll tell you later Will," Xander replied to his old friend.

Willow glared at Xander and huffed, "Fine... don't tell me anything. Why should you? After all I'm just your oldest friend and not that important." With tears in her eyes she jumped up and rushed out of the library.

"What was that?" Buffy asked as she jumped up to follow the red head.

"Oz, please go after her to see nothing happens to her," Xander quickly said and after Oz went after his girlfriend Xander turned to Buffy. "Buffy, that was a pathetic try to try to guilt me into rushing after her. Let me tell you, with the memories from someone who is a master in the art of manipulating people into doing what he wants, this was a really pathetic and amusing attempt."

"Willow wouldn't do that," Buffy protested, even if she had doubts about Willow herself not too long ago.

"Wouldn't she?" Xander asked rhetorical. "If I look back with what I know now, I see that she does it quite a lot. Mostly she does it without noticing herself, but like now theres a quite lot of instance where she does it on purpose."

Buffy looked shocked at Xander and asked in a quiet tone, "But why?"

"To not be alone, she tries to keep us close this way out of fear that we would abandon her if she can't control us, just like her parents did. I only can blame them for always abandoning her to go on their travels," Xander said in an angry tone, which was directed on Will's parents.

"So what now?" Buffy asked.

Xander shrugged. "Let Oz handle it. He is her boyfriend after all. I'll try to explain the whole thing to her tomorrow."

After they were silent for the moment Jenny said, "So you still didn't answer Giles question on what you plan now."

Xander nodded. "Yep, sorry about that. Until school ends for the summer I'll keep on trying to improve my control and keep on patrolling with Buffy and the others."

Buffy looked at her friend and had to ask, "And then, Xander?"

"Then I plan to go to England and try to find and help that Harry Potter guy," Xander replied.

Buffy looked a bit confused about who this Harry guy was and she felt a bit let down that Xander planned to leave her, ahhem them and said, "Oh... ok... understandable, but don't forget about us then."

Xander smiled a bit at seeing Buffy's disappointed face and then said, "I won't, because I hope you will all join me, at least until school starts up again. Harry can use all the help he can get."

"Who is this Harry Potter?" Angel asked, but was ignored for the moment as Buffy rushed over to Xander and gave him a hug. Annoyed Angel noted that the hug went on longer than really needed.

After a few moments he asked again, this time a bit louder. "Who is this guy?"

Xander and Buffy let go off each other quite reluctantly and Xander needed a moment to get his senses back together after feeling the very nicely curves of one Buffy Summers pressed against him. He took a deep breath and then quickly told the sad tale of Harry Potter again. While he told it he noted that Jenny wasn't quite as surprised about what was told as she should be.

'Was there more to Jenny Calendar then they knew?' he wondered silently. He knew she was a techno pagan, but was that all?

+E+

(Outside the library)

Oz quickly ran out of the library to get to Willow. He couldn't believe she had ran out like that in the middle of the night alone. She knew what dangers waited outside and so he was relieved as he saw her sitting on one of the banks in the hallway.

As he came near her he saw that she was crying and so he rushed to her and took her in his arms, where she started to sob even harder and he was shocked as his heightened sense heard her silently mumble. "I lost him...I lost my Xander."

He was hurt by that statement quite a lot, but still kept her in his arms. At least for now, tomorrow he would see.


	3. Chapter 3

Written again by Razial and Hawklan

Note: This chapter isn't beta read again, so if we and Word missed a few things point them out nicely and we'll fix them. Also if you enjoy working as a beta we wouldn't mind some help.

Chapter 3

(Summer's Residence, a few days later) 

Buffy sat on her bed thinking about her final decision concerning Angel. It had taken her three more days to finally sort out her feelings, three long hard days of avoiding Angel whenever possible. He kept trying to corner her on patrols so she had asked Giles and Xander to always go with her and keep him away until she was ready. Giles was very relieved to see his Slayer finally begin to see the error of dating a cursed vampire, but of course Angel wasn't making things easy. His constant attempts to get Buffy on her own had annoyed her. So much that her temper was close to the surface and easy snapped. Willow had stayed away from the group even for patrols. Oz stated she needed to work through some things. Jenny Calendar had stepped up to fill the empty space, considering her own abilities with magic her presence was a welcome one.

As she looked out the window she wondered how Angel would take her breaking up with him. She had to admit, at least to herself, that she feared his reaction. She might have made out that she didn't know anything about his past and those bits she did she ignored, but she had done some deep research into Angels past as Angelus, a past that included his involvement in the group known as the Scourge of Europe. The kill rate of the group was beyond nearly any other she had ever heard about. His slaughter of the Gypsy camp that led to his ensoulment was even bloodier. It seemed there was nothing he wouldn't do. This worried her as he had refused to say anything about any of this to her. Either he didn't trust her fully or he wanted to forget his past as much as possible.

She worried how his response would affect the group as a whole. Would he become a threat to them? Would he just accept her choice and move on or would he attempt to fight for her and get her to change her mind? She just did not know. She also worried what Willow would do, once the redhead learned that she had finally realized she had feelings for Xander. She just didn't know how that was going to go. Her redheaded friend had been absent from the group for three days and all Oz would say was that she needed to work out some things. It might have been her imagination, but she sensed some tension between Oz and Xander since the big blow out with Willow. It made her wonder what exactly the redhead had said to him. It seemed the next couple of days were going to be even worse. She let out a sigh as she took note that night was finally beginning to fall.

"Are you going out tonight Buffy?" Joyce inquired from behind her, startling her somewhat.

"Yeah, I'm meeting up with Xander at the Bronze, but before that I'm going to breakup with my boyfriend," Buffy admitted with a small smile. "Your advice helped me make up my mind," she added.

"As long as it is what you want and by your own choice Buffy then I am sure it is the right thing to do," Joyce responded with her own smile, pleased to see her daughter seemed in a better mood than she'd seen to be in the last day or so. "Have you made up your mind whether you like Xander more than a friend?" she inquired.

"Yeah I do like him more than a friend," Buffy said, not surprised to see her mother asking that particular question after her confession to her three days ago. "But I'm not rushing into anything yet. First I have to break up with my boyfriend and deal with the backlash of that and then I have to confront Willow and hopefully get her to see she needs to back off and let me see if there is anything there between me and Xander," she explained.

"Wise choice," Joyce shot back, pleased to see her daughter had clearly thought this through. "But do you really believe Willow will be so troublesome?" she inquired, not liking the idea of the two being on the outs with each other over any boy, not even Xander.

"Sadly yes I do," Buffy said after releasing a sigh. "We had a blow out a couple of days ago between me, her and Xander. Since then she's stayed away from the group," she explained. "Oz also seems to be involved, as he seems to be very annoyed with Xander for reasons I don't understand yet," she continued as she ran a frustrated hand through her hair. "But I can take a guess, the whole thing is a powder keg waiting to explode," she stated, shaking her head as she thought about what would set it off.

"I'm sorry to hear that Buffy," Joyce said after thinking over everything she had been told. "I hope you manage to work it all out in time, please don't stay out too late, as I need to turn in early. I have a big day ahead of me tomorrow," she told her.

"Oh what is going on at the gallery?" Buffy asked, surprised to see her mother looking very eager and if she was not mistaken excited about something.

"The new wing opens tomorrow and it is far more than just an art gallery now. The new wing contains an entire room full of antiques," Joyce answered with a wide smile. "We have some very important people in the art and antique business coming to see it. I can't wait and hopefully, if it goes well, I may be at the gallery a lot more, and it will get a lot more business," she added.

"That's great mom," Buffy responded pleased for her mother. "I'll make sure that I'm back by ten," she assured her.

"Thank you and good night Buffy," Joyce said in response before she headed for her own room.

Buffy watched her mother leave before she began to get ready for the night ahead. She hoped Angel would accept her choice and not attempt to change her mind. It was past time she took a long hard look at her life and now she was making some changes and this was a major one that needed to be done. Just because she was a Slayer didn't mean she had to wallow in the dark. She needed a partner that while walking her path could show her the better side of life during the day and she was beginning to believe Xander could do that. With a smile she finished getting ready and headed out. Whatever came next she was certain she could deal with it.

+E+

(Sunnydale Library)

Xander listened as Giles explained some of the theory behind the more advanced spells he had in his head. Dumbledore may have not been the greatest wizard in the world no matter what he liked people to think, but the man had known a lot of spells. He had a long list of things he wanted to try out, but he had taken Giles's warning not to rush things. Jenny Calendar sat next to the watcher listening and even adding in a few things here and there, this again raised Xander's sudden feeling she knew a hell of a lot more than she had told them.

They were disturbed as Angel stalked into the library looking annoyed, but then Xander supposed considering Buffy's wary stance around him lately that should not be a surprise. He had to admit, while he was pleased to see a sudden thawing between Buffy and Angel, he was shocked to see her pulling away from the souled vampire. He had been certain she would stick with him no matter what, but something had made her change her mind. He just couldn't put his finger on what. Not even having the memories of a man who was an expert at manipulating people, as well as seeing such manipulations like Dumbledore had done in his life helped him here.

"Where's Buffy?" Angel all but demanded to know. He really needed to find out why she was acting so odd around him lately. He needed to talk to her somewhere away from the others, especially Xander. He didn't like the sudden renewed closeness he saw between him and the blond Slayer.

"She is not here yet and I would thank you to moderate your tone when speaking to me," Giles responded with a slight glare. "At this moment in time you may be an ally, but if you give me any reason to think you are a threat I will deal with you, is that clear?" he asked in a dark tone.

"Yeah I got it Giles," Angel mumbled in response. "I'm sorry, I've just got a lot on my mind," he stated.

"Yeah like an obscene amount of hair gel," Xander couldn't help but add at that. "You know if you are not careful Deadboy, you are going to end up a human torch if you get too close to a fire," he sarcastically warned, causing Jenny to giggle and even Giles cracked a smile.

Angel growled at the boy who continued to take pot shots at him, another giggle made them all turn and take note Buffy had arrived. She had not meant to laugh, but she'd caught what Xander had said and found it amusing. She quickly regained control as laughing at Angel would not help matters.

"Are we ready to go?" she inquired, hoping Angel wouldn't start anything just yet.

"I believe so," Giles responded as he grabbed a bag he had prepared for the patrol ahead of time. "I've packed some stakes, a few bottles of holy water and a sword and crossbow," he informed her. "I thought we might test your skills with different weapons for a change," he added as an afterthought.

"No problem," Buffy agreed with a nod of her head. "Sounds like a plan," she added.

"You sound eager to start," Jenny noted aloud as she got up and prepared to leave.

"I guess I am," Buffy responded. "Patrol is a great way to get rid of stress," she stated with a smile. "Considering you have to teach so many crazy kids I am sure you understand what I mean by stress," she pointed out.

"Oh I know what you mean Buffy and believe me, teaching is much harder than you or any of your fellow students realize," Jenny shot back. "I guess dusting vampires can be therapeutic," she agreed much to Angel's annoyance.

"Don't you think we should wait for Willow and Oz?" Angel inquired as Cordelia walked in. She had attended patrols without fail for the three days while Willow and Oz had been missing.

"They are not coming," Xander replied with a sad and resigned shake of his head. "Until Willow gets her head straight I doubt we'll see much of her at all," he concluded.

"Then let's get going," Buffy decided as the others finished getting ready, before she turned and led them out.

+E+

(Rosenberg House)

Willow lay on her bed and was staring angrily at the wall. She had been like this for the last couple of days when she wasn't in school. She had avoided Buffy and the others as much as possible and basically quit patrols as well. She had so much on her mind and choices to make. Hard ones she was sure, but she could find no easy way to make them. By all rights she should just get over Xander already. She had Oz as a boyfriend and he was great and really wonderful. He always put her wants and desires first, but she was not ready to cut her feelings for her oldest friend off completely, not yet. She had put so much effort into trying to win his attention and she guessed she would have to try harder.

+E+

(One of the many graveyards around Sunnydale)

Xander watched as Buffy seemed to glide through the three vampires that had attacked them with ease. Every movement seemed to be out of a dance only she knew the moves to. He shook his head as he suddenly noted two more vampires storming out of the trees. He raised his wand and fired off two Incendio curses, just as Angel was about to jump into the fight. The spells hit their targets as Buffy turned to face them. Angel barely stopped himself in time to avoid being barbecued as well.

"Good reflexes Xander," Giles stated from behind him as he watched the fight. "You knew where your targets were as well as your allies before you fired your spells," he continued. "You'll need to work on that a bit to ensure you never hit a friendly target," he told him to which Xander nodded.

"What do you mean he did almost hit a friendly target," Angel spat. "Are you blind Giles?" Angel asked darkly. "He almost got me," he growled with a pointed look at Xander.

"You are a vampire Angel and have superior reflexes than a human does and thus can get out of way in time. Buffy would probably be able to avoid it as well, but I will not be putting it to the test," Giles shot back.

"He's right Angel. We are fast enough to get out of the way in time," Buffy jumped in, hoping to cut off a bigger argument that would only make what she had to tell the souled vampire all the harder. "If Xander wanted to kill you, he would have done it and nothing we could have done would have stopped him," she pointed out. "The fact he hasn't tried to barbecue you earns him some trust," she added, gaining a glare from Angel who could hardly believe she had said that.

"Come on Deadboy," Xander chimed in with a smile. "Would I really try and dust you?" he asked in his best innocent tone, which made Jenny giggle madly. Buffy almost smirked, but managed to control herself. Cordelia quickly joined Jenny in laughing at the look on Xander and Angel's faces.

Angel let out another growl before walking off and doing his best to control his urge to rip the annoying human's head off. He knew the brief satisfaction he would get from such an action would not last long and Buffy would quickly stake him no matter how she felt about him. Even if she did not, Giles, Jenny and Cordelia would ensure he ended up dust if he gave in to his urge.

"That was nicely done dweeb," Cordelia said with a smile. "Maybe next time you can amp it up a bit. Seeing his reaction to you taking the mick is very amusing," she admitted.

"It is, isn't it?" Jenny agreed with her own smile. "It makes these patrols a bit more fun," she pointed out as Buffy quickly spun and staked a vampire that was trying to sneak up on her.

"You know I've come to the conclusion these vampires must have a death wish," Buffy told them. "Trying to sneak up on me is the most ridiculous idea ever. You'd think instead of trying solo attacks or small groups they would try an attack on mass," she continued.

"Buffy please don't say things like that," Giles replied after a short sigh. "The universe has a way of trying to accommodate such things and the last thing we need is an army of vampires trying to kill you," he concluded as he removed his glasses and cleaned them before putting them back on.

"Yeah yeah Giles I know," Buffy shot back with a teasing smile. "Anyway I'm going to have to cut this patrol short as my mom wants me back early, but before I go I need to talk to Angel in private, so I'll see you guys tomorrow," she informed them, her smile instantly melted away.

"Very well Buffy, I think we can call it a night," Giles agreed before he turned and started to head home with the others right behind him, bar Xander who paused and looked back at Buffy.

Buffy met his stare and noted the slight worry in his eyes as they slid to glance at where Angel stood behind her. She wanted to say something to reassure him, but found she couldn't think of anything. Instead all she could do was to give him a small smile before she turned to face Angel. Xander let out a sigh as his shoulder slumped before he ran to catch up to the others. Angel couldn't help, but to smirk as he heard Buffy wanted to talk to him alone, which would be the first time in at least four days. He hoped to get some answers as to why she had been avoiding him. However when he noted the serious look in her eyes the smirk vanished and he began to suspect he wasn't going to like what he was going to be told.

"Buffy," he started to say, but she quickly stopped him with a raised hand.

"Please Angel, let me go first," Buffy told him. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about my life and where I want it to go," she admitted. "I've come to the conclusion I don't want my role as the Slayer to take over my life. I need someone by my side who can remind me of the better things in life," she continued and now he had an idea where this was heading. "I need someone who can go out in the sun with me. On dates at anytime I want to go on one and not only at night," she pressed on, almost chickening out but she forced herself to go on. "I believe it is best if we break up Angel. You've been a good boyfriend, but at the end of the day when I look at my life I realized you are the fantasy most girls my age fall for," she stated and noted the angry look that suddenly ignited in his eyes at her words. "I'm sorry. I know this must hurt, but it is what I need," she told him. "We are through," she concluded before she turned and ran off.

Angel could only stare at the space where she used to be as his anger at her words continued to grow. The most annoying thing she'd said was that he was nothing but a fantasy. 'Did she think he was just going to accept this?' he thought bitterly. No he would change her mind and reclaim what was his. He spun around and stalked out of the graveyard beating a vampire to pulp as it jumped him.

+E+

(England, Surrey)

Harry Potter looked down from the tree branch he was sitting on as Dudley and his gang passed. They were clearly looking for him to bully again. 'Have they nothing better to do?' he thought annoyed, as he watched them pass. Finally he relaxed as they went out of view. He let his head drop against the tree and wondered what he would have to put up with next. His entire life had never been easy, but lately the pressure of what he had to deal with was beginning to get to him. It seemed he was destined to be thrown again and again against things no one in their right mind would want to fight and he was tired of it all. 'Why me?' he asked himself. 'What did I do to deserve this life?' he added silently and watched as Dudley and his gang disappeared around the next corner.

He sighed and then climbed down. There was still time for him to get to the 'date' he had with Hermione. He still was surprised about the phone call he had gotten from her this morning. She had demanded to know why the hell he wasn't answering the letters she had sent him in the last three weeks. He had been surprised at this and was quiet for a moment, but then told her he hadn't gotten any mail since he was back with his Aunt and Uncle.

They had talked a bit more, but then he had seen his Aunt coming through the garden door. They quickly said their goodbyes and agreed to meet in a few hours to talk more about this and maybe to find out what was happening and now after the small detour because of Dudley he hurried to the meeting with his friend.

+E+

(Sunnydale, near the graveyard)

Xander quickly caught up to Giles and Jenny. "I'm heading home. I'll see you in the morning for a bit more training?"

As Giles nodded he quickly said, "Good night," and after he was out of their sight he disillusioned himself and apparated not far away from where Buffy and Angel should still be.

He listened to what Buffy told Angel and he had to smile at seeing Angel's face as Buffy finished and then let Angel stand there in his misery.

He enjoyed the anger he could read on the vampires face and then, as he saw the determination cross over Angel's face, he decided to follow him and make sure he didn't do anything stupid.

+E+

(Sunnydale, Summer's Residence)

Buffy sighed in relief as she reached her home. She was surprised about herself. She really had done it and had broken up with Angel, now she 'only' needed to talk with Willow and then see if she still had a chance with Xander. She really hoped that, but after all that had happened she wasn't too sure about that.

She looked at her watch and noted that she was right on time as her watch just showed 10. She opened the door and went into the house. In the kitchen she found her mother who seemed to have waited for her. She had to smile as she saw the hot chocolate and small snack her mother had prepared for her. "Mum, you are the best," she said and gave her mother a long hug.

They talked a bit about what happened with her now ex boyfriend while Buffy ate her snack and then went to bed, because Joyce had to get up early for the event in her gallery and Buffy had promised to help her out. After all it was a Saturday and so there was no school.

+E+

(Still with the Summers)

Joyce cursed her alarm clock and unwillingly got out of her bed. She dragged herself into the shower and then went down to the kitchen where to her surprise Buffy had already prepared a breakfast for them.

Joyce smiled. "I should encourage you to breakup with boyfriends more often if I get a nice breakfast in the morning," she teased her daughter.

"Of course, mock the poor innocent young girl for wanting to help her mother," Buffy complained with a smile. "Eat up mum, we have to hurry. I can't wait to see Uncle Henry again."

Joyce smiled and then enjoyed the breakfast her daughter had made for her.


	4. Chapter 4

Written by Razial and Hawklan

Note: This chapter isn't beta read again, so if we and Word missed a few things point them out nicely and we'll fix them.

Chapter 4

(Harris Household)

While Buffy and her mother enjoyed their breakfast, Xander woke up drenched in sweat. After his mind cleared a bit he dragged himself out of his bed even more tired than before he went to sleep. He hurried to the bathroom and went under the shower.

After a while the fog in his mind cleared a bit and he thought, 'Damn, not again.' From time to time, since that fateful night on Halloween, he woke up like this, tired as if he hadn't slept for two or three days. This proved to be the downside of this night a few weeks ago. He didn't only get the knowledge of Dumbledore, but also his memories and more. Since then he had to fight every few nights to remain himself and not to fall into the old man's footsteps.

Dumbledore's memories of decades from manipulating others weren't easy to put aside, but Xander refused to turn into a manipulative asshole like the old wizard had. He enjoyed the magic he had gotten from that night and so he was willing to fight to remain himself.

After he got out of the shower he went upstairs, luckily his father was still passed out from his meeting with Johnny Walker yesterday and so he made himself a coffee and while he enjoyed the taste of it he thought, 'Maybe Giles or Miss Calendar have an idea how I can handle this easier.'

After that thought he reflected about what happened after he had listened in on Buffy's talk with Angel. He had followed the vampire home after noting the look on the souled vampires' face, which hadn't bode well. He watched as he savagely beat up a vampire that attacked him as he left the graveyard. However he did nothing else out of the ordinary and went straight home, but he mumbled a lot. What he managed to overhear, with the help of a listening charm, was disturbing. It made him confident that his distrust of the vampire was correct. He was going to do all he could to get Buffy to take him back, which in his mind basically added up to stalking.

His mother entered the kitchen and quickly started breakfast for them both, neither of them bothered to try and wake Tony, they both preferred him to be passed out for as long as possible. Sometimes he wondered why his mother stayed with the man. He was a drunk and abusive asshole when he wanted to be, which was mostly when he was so drunk he lost all control of himself. Both he and his mother had suffered at his hands during those times. Jessica finished cooking a small breakfast for them and handed it out. As they sat there eating, Jessica couldn't help but take note that her son looked much happier than usual and she just couldn't help herself and wanted to know why. "Did something happen last night Alex?" she finally asked her son.

"What do you mean, mom?" Xander replied as he looked at her and noted she was staring at him, seeming to be searching his face for something.

"I just couldn't help but note that you look a lot happier today than you usually do," Jessica pointed out with a small smile as she pushed a bit of her hair behind her ear. "So I assume something happened," she added, while his smile was growing a little.

It took all of Xander's control not to give anything away and he guessed he would have to work on his emotional control in the future. He didn't want to make Buffy suspect he had listened in on her private conversation with Angel. That would not go down well at all. She would blow her top and any headway they seemed to have made would be ruined.

"You don't have to tell me, but I would like to know," Jessica told him as she finished her breakfast and leaned back in her chair, just watching her son.

"I can't tell you yet. I wasn't exactly supposed to hear what I did last night," Xander admitted after a few moments. "But once it is public I'll let you know," he promised as he finished his own meal and felt much better now that he had a good meal and a hot coffee to fully wake him up. "Anyway I have to go, I have some extra tutoring going on with Giles and Miss Calendar today," he told her as he stood and headed for the door.

"Ok, but remember you promised," Jessica said as she watched him go. "And Alex, have a nice day," she told him, to which he smiled and nodded before exiting the house.

As he walked his mind drifted back to the nightmare he had suffered and couldn't suppress a shiver as it ran through his mind again. He needed to get a better handle of the old man's memories.

With those thoughts he left his home and walked to the library where Giles was probably already waiting for their training hour and later on he had promised to visit Miss Summers' gallery.

+E+

(Sunnydale High School)

Giles sat in a chair writing in his watcher's diary as Miss Calendar did something on her laptop. He hadn't bothered to ask as he was still uneasy around the machines, much to her amusement. They both looked up as Xander entered looking somewhat pensive, they both wondered what might be bothering him as he had looked fine when he left them the night before.

"Are you okay Xander?" Jenny inquired, as he slumped into a chair in front of them.

"Not exactly," Xander admitted after a small silence. "I've been having nightmares lately due to Dumbledore's memories," he explained. "They are disturbing to say the least," he added with a shake of his head. "I was hoping either of you two might know a way to block them," he told them as he looked at each of them in turn.

Jenny and Giles exchanged looks as they considered the problem. They knew Xander would want to keep his new found skills with magic. Hence blocking the memories would not be easy, they were intertwined with each other.

"I am afraid a solution will not be easy to find Xander," Giles finally stated as he removed his glasses and began to clean them as he usually did when he answered tough questions. "The memories and the skills they are both connected. Separating them and blocking the memories that are causing your nightmares will be hard," he explained as he stood up and began to look through his collection of supernatural books.

The fact that almost no one came into the library was a blessing and so he had most of his collection here, although he kept his most priceless books securely at home.

"It could also be dangerous messing with them Xander," Jenny spoke up slightly concerned. "Magic isn't something to underestimate. We have no real idea how it is that you retained the memories and skills of the person you became," she pointed out, drawing Giles' attention. "No one else did so and we have to figure out why you did and if it is dangerous for us to try and suppress parts of what you retained," she stated.

"Giles?" Xander asked while turning to the watcher, who was looking thoughtful.

"Jenny does raise some good points Xander," Giles agreed. "It may be prudent to try and discover why you and you alone retained your skills and memories," he told him as he returned to the table and put his glasses back on.

"How do we do that?" Xander inquired, seeing the sense in what they both had said, even if he was a little annoyed that it meant waiting to find a way to block the memories giving him nightmares.

"I don't know just yet. I need some time to research this kind of transference," Giles answered, knowing it was not what Xander wanted to hear. "Please give me some time to look into it," he added to which Xander let out a sigh and nodded.

"I'll look into it as well Xander, I promise," Jenny told him with what she hoped was a confident smile. "In the mean time we should start your training session," she suggested.

Xander looked at her for a few seconds before he nodded in agreement and got up pulling his wand as he did so. Giles quickly finished the paragraph he had been writing in his watcher's diary before he got up to help.

+E+

(Art and Antiques Gallery)

Buffy watched as Joyce moved around the brand new Antiques area, she had to admit she was impressed with what her mother had come up with and the many objects she had located. As she looked around she took note of what looked like a Japanese Samurai sword, she almost reached out and grasped it, but just managed to stop herself. Still she couldn't help but admire it. It was unlike any sword she had seen before. The blade glinted in the sun light and the ornate covering next to it had gems interwoven in it, making it look very nice.

"Nice blade, don't you think Kid?" a voice asked her from behind, a voice she knew very well.

She spun around to see and older man standing behind her. He had on a beat up leather jacket as well as much worn hat. The satchel he had slung over his shoulder made him look much younger than he was, however many said Professor Henry Jones Jr. never looked his age.

"Uncle Henry," Buffy cried in delight before she rushed forward and hugged him, remembering not to squeeze too hard. "I'm so glad you could make it," she said as Dr. Henry "Indiana" Jones returned the hug with a smile of his own.

"As if I would Miss Joyce's debut into Antiques kid," Indiana replied as they pulled apart. "I've been working with her on this for a while. I helped her locate some of the pieces she has on show and I also donated a few things as well," he informed her.

"Indeed you did," Joyce agreed as she appeared and quickly moved to hug her old friend, as she pulled back she noted he looked only a little older if at all than the last time she saw him. "You almost haven't changed a bit Henry," she couldn't help but state.

Indiana smiled and nodded as he got that a lot over the years, of course he could never tell them the reason why he aged so slowly. That was one of the many things in his long career that was now classified. He just explained it away as good living.

Joyce shook her head. "Anyway I'm glad you could make it. It wouldn't be right if you weren't here," she said. "Hopefully my other two guests will show up as well," she said somewhat nervously.

"When are you opening the wing mom?" Buffy inquired.

"In an hour, hopefully by then my two guests will have arrived as will Xander," Joyce answered with a small smile as she noted Buffy's eyes widen a little at the mention of her friend showing up.

"Xander is coming?" Buffy asked, while doing her best to not sound too excited but by the amused looks exchanged by Uncle Henry and mom it seemed she had not been too successful at that.

"Yes I asked him to pop by to help," Joyce told her daughter and did her best not to grin at the look on Buffy's face. The sound of the door opening made them all turn and move back into the old art wing to see who had turned up.

Russell Nash walked into the Sunnydale Art and Antiques shop without pause. On entering the shop he had to admit it was a very large shop for such a small town. He looked around before taking note of people approaching him, he turned to greet them.

"Mr. Nash," the blond haired woman who he decided had to be Joyce Summers said with a welcoming smile. "I can't say how pleased I'm that you accepted my invitation," she added as he shook her hand. "Please let me introduce my daughter Buffy and another of my special guests Professor Henry Jones Jr.," she continued before introducing the two people behind her.

"Professor Jones, I've heard of you," Connor said in greeting as he shook the man's hand before turning to the younger blond. "Miss Summers, a pleasure to meet you," he said as he shook her hand as well before turning to Mrs. Summers again. "I was happy to accept your invitation Mrs. Summers, your small information packet showed that you have some unique pieces on show," he told her. "The one I was most intrigued about was the Masamune katana, they are very rare to come by," he admitted.

"Very true Mr. Nash," Joyce replied. "I was lucky when it came to the sword. I found it in, if you can believe it, a garage sale in LA," she admitted, still feeling the surprise she had felt that day. "The person selling it told me it had belonged to his grandfather who had recently died and they were selling most of his things," she explained. "He fought in World War 2 and got the sword somehow while stationed in Japan. It was one of his most praised items," she continued. "I managed to verify that it was the real thing before I bought it. I admit I did not mention its true worth to the previous owner as I really wanted it for my collection," she finished with a sheepish smile.

Connor couldn't help but to let out a short laugh at the story while Indiana grinned in surprise that his friend would do something like that. Joyce had always struck him as a by the book kind of person. Buffy was smiling as well, but inside she was just as surprised as Uncle Henry.

"Do not be ashamed Mrs. Summers," Connor told her as he regained control. "I've known many of our profession do such things and I've done it myself," he admitted with a smile. "It is a natural way of business and sometimes there are those who take it way beyond the line," he added giving her a small warning. "May I see the sword?" he inquired.

"Of course, please this way," Joyce said, feeling much better after Mr. Nash's little speech.

Connor followed her into the next wing where the antiques were held. He smiled as he noted many familiar items and even some things he had seen in his long life. Finally they came to the glass case where the Masamune was held. He looked it over and noted the fine work of the master swordsmith who had created his own unique Katana. He remembered what Ramirez had told him all those years ago back in Scotland. That Masamune had created the blade as a gift when Ramirez had married the swordsmith's daughter. While Masamune had forged other swords in his time, none of them had equaled the work he had put into Ramirez's blade.

"Wonderful," he mused as he looked it over. "I have only seen two other Masamune blades and none of them match this one's detail," he stated as his eyes continued to roam over the blade. "I hope you don't think ill of me Mrs. Summers, but I didn't only come here to view your collection, I came to try and work a deal with you for the sword," he finally admitted as he met Joyce's eyes.

"I see," Joyce replied somewhat surprised. "I did not expect this. You do realize this sword is worth a lot of money?" she pointed out.

"I know however I will point out that in this small town such a sword is wasted," Connor shot back, having expected her to be resistant to his offer. "I'm willing to offer an equal exchange, a number of items from my own collection that will add up to the price of the sword," he told her.

Joyce paused at this rather generous offer as she had to admit he had a point, not many people were going to come into her shop to see the sword. Hell half the people wouldn't even know what it truly was let alone the history involved with the sword. She glanced at Henry and noted he and Buffy were at one of the other displays, clearly wanting to give her some time to discuss business.

"I will be here for the duration of the opening Mrs. Summers," Connor told her. "Please think about my offer, I'm sure I have some things in my collection that will suit your store," he added with a smile before he walked off to look at some of the other things in the gallery.

This left Joyce to think about his offer, while she glanced at the clock and noted time had flown and she only had half an hour to go before the grand opening. The sound of the door opening again made them turn to see two more people enter. However instead of walking in, they all but ran in and skidded to a stop just before they could crash into one of the display cases much to Joyce's relief.

"Er...sorry," the young man said with a half hearted grin.

"Who are you?" Joyce inquired as she took note he was not the third special guest she was expecting and neither was the dark haired woman with him.

"I'm Nathan Drake and this is my girlfriend Chloe Frazer," the man introduced himself as he did his best to hide the gun he still held in his hands. Chloe did the same as she kept glancing behind them.

"I've heard of you," Indiana replied. "A treasure hunter of some renown," he said aloud so the others would hear him. "However I also heard you have a habit of attracting a lot of trouble," he added before a grin graced his features. "Hell you remind me of me when I was younger, nice to meet you I'm Henry Jones," he told him.

Nate's eyes widened a little, having not expected to meet such a well known figure in the antique, history and treasure department to be in such a small town. He wondered exactly what he and Chloe had interrupted. He glanced at his lover and noted she was just as surprised by the man's presence as he was.

"Nice to meet you Professor," Nate said as he shook the man's hands briefly. "We didn't mean to interrupt your party, we were just curious," he lied half heartedly.

Before any of them could say anything else seven men burst into the shop carrying handguns and shouting, they quickly surrounded Nathan and Chloe.

"Friends of yours, Drake?" Indiana inquired, feeling somewhat wishful that the guns were pointed at him like in the old days. 'Their mistake,' he thought as he noted Nash come closer to the scene.

"What is going on here?" Joyce demanded as she tried to control her fear.

"Shut up bitch," one of the gunmen spat. "We are only here for Drake and his whore," he growled out as he pushed his gun into Nate's face. "Where is it, Drake?" he demanded.

"Err...Nate any ideas what he is talking about?" Chloe asked with a smile, even if she was not exactly thrilled about the situation they found themselves in, yet again.

"Not really, could be one of a hundred things Chloe," Nate shot back as he tried to find an opening to attack.

The lead gunman snarled and smashed his gun into his face hard. Nate stumbled backwards, but didn't give away any hint of pain. Chloe winced as the blow landed and sometimes she wondered why they continued to risk their lives like this.

"Tell me where it is Drake or I will make you watch as I destroy Miss Frazer and believe me it will not be a quick death," the lead gunman warned him with a deadly glare before turning his gun on Chloe, who shivered as she realized what he might mean.

"Nate," she couldn't help say as she backed off slightly until she felt another of the guns slam into her back.

"Easy Chloe," Nate replied as he felt his anger build. "I don't have it, alright? It was stolen by Vintoz and his gang," he told them. "We didn't even see them coming, we were somewhat distracted at the time," he added as a small smile passed his features as he remembered exactly what he and Chloe had been doing before being ambushed, but it quickly vanished again.

"What do you take me for Drake?" the lead gunman asked in a dark tone as he again placed the gun against the other man's face. "Where is the medallion?" he demanded one more time.

"He's telling the truth," Chloe spat. "We don't have it anymore, Vintoz does and by now he is already close to finding whatever it is you are after," she added.

The lead gunman paused to consider things before deciding to kill both as they were annoying pests. He knew that if he let them live they would come after them or at least get in their way. If Vintoz had the medallion then he would track him down and take it, smirking he placed his gun against Chloe's head deciding to make Drake watch her die. Before he could pull the trigger Drake struck, slamming his elbow into the man's head and sending him flying backwards.

Connor and Indy quickly jumped into action having been waiting for an opening, what shocked Joyce was seeing her daughter jump into the fight with a growl. Even more shocking to her was seeing her daughter execute a flawless back kick into one of the gunmen so hard that the man flew across the room and into the far wall. Connor smashed his fists into another of the gunman's faces with enough force to break his nose, from the side Indy smirked as he drove his knee into another's gut before elbowing him in the back of the head. The man dropped to the ground out cold. Indy paused as he felt a gun suddenly pressed up against the back of his head, but the pressure quickly vanished and he turned to stare in surprise as Buffy knocked the guy out cold with a rather viscous left hook, he raised an eyebrow in surprise.

Drake continued to exchange left and rights with the leader of the group who had attacked them. He was intent on putting this asshole down permanently after he had threatened to kill Chloe. Chloe herself was taking down another of the gunmen, easily putting him down by the simple way of kicking him between the legs and then nailing him in the face. Indiana put another down with a solid elbow to the man's jaw. He hit with enough force to break the man's jaw. The last gunman tried to run, but ran into Connor who kicked him in the side before hitting three quick jabs into the man's face, and finally knocking him out cold as well. They all turned to watch as Drake, who now had a bloody nose continued to trade punches and kicks with the lead gunman. Eventually Drake got the upper hand and was able to break the man's nose and then his left arm before he put him down. He almost drew his gun before Chloe stopped him. He looked at her and she shook her head in the negative to which he relented.

"That was fun," Indiana said with a smirk. "Man, makes me feel like the good old days," he added as he moved to Joyce's side and helped her over to a chair near her desk in the other room. "Maybe you could explain what just happened, while I call the police?" he stated as he picked up the phone and called for help.

Drake rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Considering you just helped to save our necks I guess you've earned it. We found a medallion these two groups want for reasons we are still not sure about yet. They've tried to kill us a few times, but we thought we'd lost them once Vintoz stole the medallion," he explained. "We were wrong, they didn't realize what had happened and stuck to chasing us. Which is why they followed us into here." he continued.

"Well once they are locked up I'm sure you can put some space between them and you," Connor suggested as they began to hear the sounds of sirens closing in on them.

"Look no offense, but we can't be here when the cops arrive," Chloe pointed out as she took Nate's hand in hers and began to drag him out of the shop. "Thanks for the help and please apologize for us to the woman who owns this place when she comes around from the shock," she continued, pulling Nate out of the shop before anyone could say anything else.

The group all looked between themselves until finally a few minutes later the police arrived. The lead cop, a Detective Stein, quickly began to take statements. They followed Indiana's lead when he didn't name the two people who were chased by the gunmen. Joyce who was still in shock did her best to answer questions, but she hadn't really seen anything having been too shocked by her daughter's actions. Stein was slightly suspicious, but decided he had enough to go on. He watched as his men led the men away in cuffs, while the CSI team tagged and bagged the weapons and other evidence.

"I'll be in touch with each of you if I need your assistance with this case now that I have your details," Stein stated as he glanced at each of them in turn. "This is not something that happens in this town. I find that it did when so many interesting people are in town suspicious to say the least," he told them.

"Please be advised Detective Stein that I have my own shop to run in New York and I will not be staying in town for long," Connor stated.

"How long do you plan to stay, Mr. Nash?" Stein asked, turning to the man with hawkish features.

"Three days at the least. I have to get back soon as I have a business to run," Connor responded.

"And you Mr. Jones?" Stein inquired, turning to the older man who leaned against the wall with an air of amusement around him.

"Dr. Jones, detective and a week at most. I came down not only to see the grand opening, but also to see Joyce and Buffy who are old friends," Indiana replied easily. "Now if that is all, Detective? I need to get Joyce calmed down as we only have ten minutes before the big opening," he added.

Stein stared at the man some more before deciding there was nothing else he could do before he turned and left with the last of his men. Indiana then began to try and calm Joyce down, while Buffy moved into the office to make her mother a cup of tea to help. Connor remained where he was and waited, hopefully Mrs. Summers would recover quickly. Five minutes later Joyce was taking small sips of her coffee as she stared at her daughter. Her mind was going a mile a minute. She was at least relieved nothing had been broken in the fight and that the opening could still happen. The sound of the door opening made all of them turn and stare at who had come in. Xander looked up to notice the unsure stares.

"What?" he asked seeing them all stare at him.

"Oh nothing," Buffy replied. "You just missed a small bit off a preopening party," she continued with a smirk.

"Elizabeth Ann Summers...," Joyce said, which made Buffy gulp a bit. "Be sure that we will have a talk about your actions during this 'Party' after the opening.

With that Joyce opened the door of her store and the first people came in for the opening which turned out to be a long and successful day for Joyce.

Add. Disclaimer: Indiana Jones belongs to Lucasfilm Ltd., Nathan Drake and Chloe to Naughty Dog and Russell Nash to Panzer/Davis.


	5. Chapter 5

Written by Razial and Hawklan

Note: This chapter isn't beta read again, so if we and Word missed a few things point them out nicely and we'll fix them. Ranting about errors without facts will be ignored :)

Chapter 5

(Joyce's Gallery, Saturday late afternoon)

Joyce sighed in relief as she turned the open sign around so that it now showed 'closed'. It was a long and successful day for her gallery, but it was also a tiring one, even without the event before the opening. She turned around and looked at Xander who stood deep in thought before the Masamune Katana like he had done several times over the day while helping her out. "Xander?" she asked.

Getting no reaction from the teenager she smiled and went over to the young man and laid her hand on his shoulder. Before she could even start to say his name again, Xander spun around and suddenly pointed a strange stick at her. "Stup...," he started to say, but interrupted himself as he saw who stood before him. "Sorry Ms. S, you startled me."

"I can see that," she said, filling her question about the strange stick away for her talk with Buffy. "I just closed the store and we can leave in a few moments. Buffy is just finishing up storing something in the back for me. I would like to invite you over for something to eat as a thank you for your help over the day."

"That isn't really necessary Ms. S, but who am I to turn down an offer of food?" Xander replied with a huge smile at which Joyce had to smile as well.

"Uh Miss Summer could I ask for a small favor?" Xander asked, with an eye still on the sword.

"Yes?" Joyce asked curiously.

He pointed at the Katana and said, "Could you take that sword back home with you? I think it will be important after you had your talk with Buffy."

Joyce looked at the sword and then at Xander for a moment and then nodded. "Ok Xander and I'm quite curios about the reason for that."

Before she could say more, they both heard the yell from Buffy from the back. "Mom...I'm ready."

Joyce picked up the sword as Xander asked and after she stored it in a huge sports bag she said, "Be around seven at our home Xander. That should give us all enough time for a shower and then we can eat and talk."

Xander just nodded and so Joyce, Buffy, Henry and Xander quickly left the store and went their own way to met up later in the evening again.

+E+

(Angel's hideout)

Angel paced up and down his small bedroom trying desperately to figure out why Buffy had suddenly dumped him and more importantly how to get her back? He refused to lose her, not now and not for the reasons she had given, which seemed pretty stupid to him. How could she want anyone but him? He was no fantasy. He growled in rage as he continued to pace feeling the need to go and vent his anger sadly he couldn't as the sun was still up, but once it went down he would find some vampires to take his anger out on.

"This isn't over Buffy," he vowed aloud as he finally stopped pacing. "You belong to me and you will realize that soon enough," he added, sounding far more like the soulless Angelus he used to be than the souled Angel he was supposed to be.

Had Buffy been there to hear it, even she would begin to question just how far the soul spell went in containing the evil that was Angelus. Was he completely subdued by the soul of Angel or could he influence the soul from within? But she wasn't there and neither was anyone else, hence the troubling incident passed with no witnesses.

+E+

(Summers Residence around seven in the evening)

After they had all gathered at the Summers Residence, Joyce had simply ordered several Pizza's because after the day at her gallery she was just too tired to spent time in the kitchen as well. After Buffy, Xander, Joyce and Henry had enjoyed their pieces of the pizza's Joyce looked at her daughter and said, "I think it is time that you explain to me what happened this morning."

Buffy looked at her mother for a while and then at Xander. "Could you call Giles to come over, Xander?"

While Xander just nodded, got up and went over to the phone Joyce asked. "What has your Liberian to do with this?"

"Everything and I won't tell you anything before he is here, because the first time I tried that you and dad put me into an asylum and so we wait," Buffy replied.

Henry looked at his niece in shock and said, "You put your daughter into an asylum? Why?"

Joyce gulped a bit at the anger she heard out of Henry's voice and replied, "After she burned down the gym at her old High School in LA she told Hank and me a crazy story about vampires and her being the Slayer or something like that."

Henry glanced over at Buffy in surprise for a moment. This information explained to him what Buffy did this morning and so he turned to Joyce again. "And because of that you put her into an asylum? After all I've told you about my adventures you didn't even give your daughter the benefit of the doubt?  
>I'm disappointed, Joyce."<p>

Now it was time for Buffy and Joyce to look in surprise at Henry and finally Joyce muttered, "You believe that stuff about vampires and slayers?"

"Of course Joyce. I had my own encounters with vampires and other stuff on my journeys, I even worked with a slayer once," Henry replied. He turned to Buffy and said, "So I guess that the Mister Giles, Xander is calling, is your watcher, Buffy?"

Speechless Buffy could only nod in reply.

While the three went silent for a moment, Xander returned and announced. "Giles and Jenny will be here in a few minutes." Looking at the three he continued. "Huh? What did I miss?"

Buffy signed and sat down on the couch. "Just let's wait for Giles, before we can go on. He can explain this stuff better to mum."

They all nodded and sat down as well until a few minutes later the door bell rang. Xander quickly stood up and opened the door.

+E+

(Rosenberg House)

Willow lay on her bed as she had done for the last couple of days when she was not in school, she was angry and miserable. It seemed her entire world had spun into a crazy spiral, nothing made sense anymore. She was now certain Buffy had her eyes set on Xander, she had heard from Oz that Buffy had broken up with Angel the day before after he was told by Cordelia who had heard it from Buffy herself. While at school she had watched the blond carefully without been seen and the way the blond now acted around Xander made her blood boil.

She had been certain that Buffy would never find Xander attractive or interesting enough to pursue, but clearly she had been wrong. Now she was making suitable attempts to get his attention as if she needed to. Willow let out a frustrated sigh at that. She had stayed away from the group for the last four to five days trying to come up with some way to gain Xander's love and now she had only one way left to her now that Buffy was after Xander. She would use magic to make Xander love her. He would be hers and hers alone and would never look at Buffy again. Of course she intended to keep Oz as a boyfriend as well, neither would know about the other and with magic she was certain she could keep control of both, so even if they did find out they wouldn't care one bit

+E+

(Summers Residence, a while later)

After Giles had explained all about Slayers, Watchers and what went bump in the night Joyce was crying silent tears for not believing her daughter before and having agreed to Hank's demands to admit her into an asylum. She couldn't believe she was that stupid back then, but that couldn't be changed now and she just prayed her daughter could forgive her for that.

After she had put herself together again she asked, "So what now?"

While Xander explained that he planned to go to England over the summer to help someone out and that Giles and Buffy planned to join him, his eyes wandered again and again to the Katana Joyce had brought with her because of his request. He was still unsure why he did ask at all that she brought it over, but somehow he felt drawn to the sword.

Buffy noted how Xander drifted over to the sword while he talked and suddenly as he touched the blade a blue light surrounded him and the sword for a second and as the light disappeared again. Xander stood there with the sword in hand and looked like he was staring into unknown distances.

+E+

(Japan, several centuries earlier)

Masamune opened his eyes and felt tired as never before. The dream or better the vision he just had took a lot of energy out of him. He got up slowly, went out into the warm sunshine of this beautiful young morning and after he enjoyed the warm sun rays on his nude torso for a few minutes he started his morning Kata to smooth his body and to prepare him for the work that awaited him for the next days.

After he was finished with his workout he went back inside, where his beautiful daughter already awaited him with some godly smelling tea and a light breakfast. He smiled at her as he knelt down at their table. "Good morning my little lotus, thank you for this nice meal," he said while tasting the tea. "I will be quite busy in the smithy the next few days. I had a vision which showed me I had to forge a master piece for a warrior for will be in need of it to fulfill a part of her destiny."

His daughter looked at him in surprise and just asked, "Her?"

"Yes my daughter. I will tell you more later, but for now I've to start my work." He quickly finished his meal, bowed to his daughter and then went over to his smithy.

In it he started to heat the oven and then went over to the wall on the other side of the oven. He mumbled something quietly and suddenly part of the wall disappeared and showed a small staircase leading down somewhere. He went onto the stairs, mumbled something and the wall behind him reappeared again. After that he mumbled something again and a small light appeared over his head to light the way.

He followed down the staircase which leads into a huge underground cavern where he stored most of his possessions, which would mean his death if the Shogun ever got wind of it.

Without looking around he went over to a small trunk. He quickly opened it and then disappeared into it. A few minutes later he came back again with a selection of materials he would need for crafting the sword his vision had shown him.

He went back up the stairs and as he reached the top he mumbled a spell to check if something living was behind the wall in his smithy. After he didn't see anything he mumbled the spell to open the wall. He quickly stepped through it and then closed the wall behind him again.

He took a deep breath and then began the work to create a masterpiece of magical craftsmanship.

Several days later as he finished the last touch on the blade he added his final blessing. "By Sanshi, the white dragon and wielder of the Eternal Flame, may this blade find its way to its intended wielder and serve her well."

After he finished that blessing white flames suddenly hushed over the blade of the Katana. The steel glowed in a pure white for a few moments and then several Kanji appeared on it.

Masamune read the writing that had appeared on the blade, smiled for a moment and then said into the air. "The sword for your companion is ready young wizard of the future. Present it to her and use a drop of your and her blood to activate and bind it to her. May your battles be in your favor and may the darkness flee from you."

With that Masamune collapsed and fell into a deep slumber after he worked several days on the sword without rest.

+E+

(Sunnydale Hotel)

Nathan Drake lay naked in bed with Chloe curled up against him. He was currently running his hand through her long black hair as she slept lightly against him. His mind however was reviewing what had happened to them that day, from being almost killed to meeting Professor Henry Jones Jr., a man Nate respected. The tales of his exploits had been some of his favorite when he was young and still learning the ropes from Sully. 'What was such a high profile man doing in such a small town?' he asked himself. There was something there he was missing even if it wasn't related to the locket.

He had at first believed, as had the two gangs who wanted possession of it, that it was a medallion, but now after thinking it over he was certain it was in fact a locket of some kind. He needed help here not only to get it back from Vintoz and his gang, but also to identify it and why it was so important.

'Maybe I should give Lara a call,' he thought as she was really the only person in England who might be able to help. Vintoz and his gang had their main base in England and he was sure that was where they had gone. He would have to follow them to retrieve the locket.

"We're going after it, aren't we?" Chloe's sleepy voice broke him out of his thoughts and he looked down at her, just as she opened her eyes to look at him.

"What?" he asked as he had not fully caught what she had asked him.

"I said we are going after it, aren't we?" Chloe repeated her question as she knew Nate would not be content to allow the bad guys to take something from him without trying to get it back.

"I'm sorry Chloe," Nate responded with a sigh. "But I think it is important that we get the locket back," he told her as he leaned down and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Whatever Vintoz and his rivals want it for, I don't think it will be good for anyone," he stated while his right hand was slowly caressing Chloe's left breast.

Chloe let out a small moan and wanted to argue about what he said, but she knew Nate had a point. In the last couple of years the things they had been involved in had concerned true world ending events. It seemed Nate had a habit of running into madmen who wanted either to control the world or destroy it. Sully had called it 'the Kid's luck of the draw,' but she was not as amused as the man who had basically raised Nate like a son. Nate's continued risking of his life had been why Elena had finally left him. She couldn't deal with it anymore. This had left Chloe with the opportunity to get Nate back and once Nate had gotten over Elena leaving him she had made her move.

She smiled as her own hands started to wander over Nate's body, this time she didn't intend to lose him. Nate was the only lover she had that she trusted completely and the only one she could honestly say she loved completely. So she would follow him into whatever mess he would end up in and ensure he came out of it alive. It was not like she could deny she loved the adrenalin rush she got from the life or death situations they ended up in. She also loved the far off and sometimes mystical and lost places they ended up visiting, letting out a sigh she snuggled closer to Nate and her hands reached a point of Nate's body which seemed not to be tired at all. Slowly she stared to massage that part of Nate's body.

"Vintoz will head to England where his main base is," Nate managed to get out between a moan because of what Chloe was doing. "I was thinking of calling Lara up and asking for her help," he admitted.

That got Chloe's attention and she stopped massaging at once, as she knew Nate had a brief history with Lara Croft. He noted her frown and more importantly her stopping of what she was doing and he quickly assured her that whatever had been between him and Lara was long over.

"Maybe we should call Charlie in as well," Chloe said, relenting on the matter of Lara for now. "We might need the help," she pointed out as Nate wanted to start to argue.

"Okay," Nate agreed as he supposed they could use all the help they could get as most of the time in their adventures they were always outnumbered. "I'll give Sully a call as well," he decided as he thought over things. "That should even the odds a little," he stated confidently.

"We'll see," Chloe replied as she started her massaging again. Nate let out a loud moan and all thought of talking left them both, as Chloe started a deep kiss while still stroking Nate's cock.

After they both enjoyed their love making Chloe began to fall asleep again, relieved that this time they would not be doing this on their own. Nate held her tight to himself and finally drifted off to sleep as well.

+E+

(Scotland, Hogwarts)

Harry groaned as he turned around in his bed, not being able to sleep. He had won that damn tournament more through luck than everything else and now things looked worse than ever. Voldemort was back in a new body and that idiot of a Minister of Magic didn't believe one word of what he had told about what had happened in the graveyard.

The only good thing in that was that Cedric decided in the last moment not to touch the trophy as they had agreed on and so he was whisked alone to that graveyard. That probably saved Cedric's life because the Death Eaters and Tom wouldn't have thought much about killing him off and now it wasn't long until the summer break and Dumbledore insisted he had to return to the Dursley's again.

At that he had to smile a bit. He put up some mock protest to that so that Dumbledore wouldn't get suspicious. His plan's for this summer looked quite different than Dumbledore's. He would return to his Aunt, but only for a short time until he would act on the plan he and Hermione had come up with during the winter break, he had spent at 'home' this time because Hogwarts had closed down completely over Christmas.

Thinking about that plan and especially Hermione put a different kind of smile on his face and after indulging his fantasies about his beautiful 'Bookworm' a bit longer he finally fell into a deep sleep and enjoyed the dreams that followed this night.


	6. Chapter 6

Note: Not beta read by anyone, so if you find errors it would be nice of you to point them out to Razial and me.

Note2: Just had to add a big thank you to Eureka for pointing out quite a few things to make this and chapter 5 better to read. So thank you quite a lot.

Chapter 6

(Summers Residence)

Xander blinked and then slowly shook his head as if to clear it. His eyes became focused again and he let the sword in his hand down for a bit. "Wow that was one strange bit," he said loudly and then noted how all of his friends were staring at him. "What?" he asked into the round.

"You spaced out there for a while on us, Xander," Buffy replied to him.

"Yes indeed young man. It looked like you were seeing things far away," Giles added and looked questioningly add the young wizard.

"I did. I saw how this Katana was forged and why. It seems like it wasn't an accident of luck that brought Miss Summers to this yard sale," Xander said which earned him a curios gaze from Joyce.

"Would you care to explain this, Xander?" she said.

"Of course," Xander replied and while Joyce gave everyone something to drink Xander quickly explained the vision he had just seen.

After he finished it was quiet in the room for a while until Henry spoke up, "The world is always full of wonders and surprise. Do you know what those signs mean?"

Xander shook his head and replied, "Sadly no. I don't understand Japanese and in my vision it sounded like they spoke English the whole time, but I think I know how to translate it. I just need some time."

Henry looked up at this a bit surprised. "Good, but if you want I can try to translate it now."

Xander handed the Katana over to Buffy's uncle, who took it carefully and in a way that showed he didn't handle a sword for the first time. He lay the blade carefully before him so that he could study it, then he took out some glasses and a notebook and quickly began to scribble into it.

While Henry worked on the blade Joyce looked at Xander for a moment and then said, "So you say it wasn't pure luck that I bought this sword in LA and that it was made by this Japanese smith all those centuries ago for my daughter."

As Xander simply nodded in reply she shook her head and muttered, "Unbelievable."

Buffy just looked at her friend and smiled. "A nice new toy for me... Mum, Xander you're the best." She quickly hugged her mother and then over to Xander to give him one as well.

Jenny noted with a smile that the hug Buffy gave Xander lasted quite a bit longer than the one she had given her mother, but before she could comment on this Henry spoke up. "Done," he said. He stood up, gave the Katana back to Xander and then joined them on the table. While all looked at him expectantly he smiled and took a sip from a glass of water before he spoke, "It wasn't easy, but I think I got it."

While the others wait for him so say more he slowly took up his glass again and took his time. Buffy started to fidget and finally yelled, "Uncle Henry..."

"Buffy?" he replied with a smile.

"Spill it," Buffy grumbled.

Innocently Henry looked at his glass of water and replied with a smirk, "I don't think your mother would enjoy it much if I would spill this nice water around."

"Arrrghhhh...," was Buffy reply to that.

"Ok. Ok. Before our little Buffy blows up here I better talk," Henry said with a laugh.

"Little? Who is little?" Buffy grumbled, but was ignored by the other.

Smiling Henry took out his notebook again read quickly through what he had written and then said, "Ok here it goes that is what I translate. A sword from the east, a sword from the west, one wielded by the bane of the demons, one by the child of lighting, together with the wizard with knowledge not his own will defeat those who live from fear so that they won't serve the soul fractured into seven."

All looked dumbfound at him for a moment until Xander said. "Ok I think that makes it even more important to meet Harry. Tomorrow I will book our flight to the land of tweed for next Saturday, so that we won't lose much time after school is out. Harry's school year ends on Friday as well, so we should be able to meet with him at his aunt's home. That gives us a full week to train a bit more and do all that we still need to do."

They all talked a bit more about stuff they needed to do before school ends and they would travel to England. Quite a while later Xander spoke up again and said, "I think that should cover all. What we should cross off our list first is to give and bind the Katana to Buffy."

After all agreed Xander stood up, picked a small dagger from his belt, nicked his left thumb with it and let one drop of his blood fall onto the blade of the Katana. It glowed in all colors of the rainbow for a moment until it returned to normal.

While the others watched this in astonishment he held out the blade into a presenting manner to Buffy. "I, Alexander Lavelle Harris First Wizard of the Hellmouth present this blade to you, Elisabeth Ann Summers, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Bane of the Demons. Wield it with honor and to serve the light and this blade will never fail you. Now take it and bind it to you with a drop of your blood."

While Giles and Jenny mumbled, "First Wizard of the Hellmouth?" Buffy took the blade and the Xander's dagger and like him nicked her thump and let a drop of her blood fall on the blade. As soon as her blood touched the blade it glowed in an intensive white light which blinded all for a moment until it returned to normal.

Buffy looked up and said, "First Wizard of the Hellmouth I humbly accept this gift and promise to honor it." With those words she bound the sword onto her back and as soon as she was done the sword vanished from view.

All looked in astonishment again at this and soon a lot of talking started up again. Finally after another hour they all said their goodbyes and went to their respective homes.

+E+

(Harris household)

Xander walked into his kitchen to make himself a cup of tea, his Mother had already gone to bed and his Father was sadly passed out on the couch, having drunken himself into a stupor as usual. He shook his head and wondered not for the first time what had happened to his father, to make him such a waste of space. Lost in his thoughts for a few minutes he scolded himself with some hot tea as he poured it into his cup. He dropped the kettle on the floor and his sudden movement sent his cup flying onto the floor as well.

"Shit," he mumbled before he pulled his wand and said the reparo spell and watched with satisfaction as his cup lifted upwards and quickly repaired itself as if it had never been broken.

"Merlin no," a voice off to the side said in absolute horror and he spun to find his father had woken up and walked in on the sight of his using magic.

He was about to try and convince his father that this was all the result of a drunken nightmare, when he realized just what it was his father had said. He frowned as he looked closer at his father who remained rooted to the spot. His face was one of complete fear and watching his face stirred some memory from Dumbledore, but sadly it was eluding him.

"Dad, are you ok?" he asked finally, which caused his father to meet his eyes.

"No Alex I'm not," Tony replied as he tried to fight through the drunken haze he was still in. "Do me a favor and cast a charm to get sober on me," he asked.

Xander was beginning to get more and more worried, but what he was seeing and hearing point out that his Father knew about magic. 'But how?' he wondered before doing as he was told as he wanted answers, even if some memories of Dumbledore were tucking him.

The spell took immediate effect and his father's blood shot eyes cleared and his stance became more stable. Tony let out a brief sigh as he felt the effects of the spell wash over him. His eyes dropped to the wand in his son's hand and wondered where in the hell he had gotten it. How did his son suddenly gain the ability to use magic? He might have been a drunk for most of his son's life, however he had noted his son had never shown to have inherited his magic. Now it seemed that had been an error of judgment. 'Or had it?' he thought.

"I think we need to talk Alex," Tony said warily. "If you can do magic with a wand I think there are things you need to know about me and about why I have been a drunk for most of your life," he said, his tone bitter and he showed quite a bit of self-loathing as well.

"How do you know about wand magic?" Xander demanded to know without realizing he was acting somewhat like Dumbledore when he was searching for important answers.

"That should be obvious Alex," Tony said with a snort of dark humor. "I'm a wizard or at least I used to be," he spat out, much to Xander's shock. "Surprised are you?" Tony asked with a smirk that seemed twisted. "Shocked that your drunken father could possibly have had such power to command?" he added.

"If you were a wizard then why the hell are you living as a damn drunk?" Xander spat back. "Why the total lack of care for me or for mom?" he demanded to know.

Tony sighed at this and turned to the side to look out of the nearby window. "I never intended to end up like this. When I met your mother I managed for a time to escape my nightmares. To escape my past," he admitted. "She breathed new life into me and for a time I could forget Alex, but just after you were born I began to have the nightmares again," he explained as he ran a hand through his greying hair. "My past caught up with me and the only way I could find to escape it was the bottle as I had before I met your mother," he went on, his tone bitter once more. "Jessica tried to help me as best she could while caring for you. For a year or two that seemed to work, but in time it all became too much and I gave in and became a complete drunk," he spat with self-loathing.

"Jessica never knew the truth about my past. I guess that if she had then she would have had nothing to do with me and you would not be here right now," he said with a glance at him. "I thought we had been lucky enough that you had not inherited my magic when you were born, I guess I was wrong," he finished with a sigh.

"No you weren't. I wasn't born with magic dad," Xander told him, still trying to figure out how is father knew about this. 'What was it he was hiding from?' he wondered. "I dressed up as a wand wizard for Halloween and a crazy chaos mage made everyone turn into their costumes, but when the spell broke everyone went back to normal except me," he explained. He almost shivered when his father suddenly looked at him with intent eyes.

"Who did you dress as Alex?" Tony all but demanded to know.

"Albus Dumbledore," Xander answered and then watched in surprise as his father all but jumped away from him as his face went completely white in fear. "What the..." he began to say before he cut himself off. "Dad, what the hell is wrong?" he finally asked.

Tony didn't answer at first before he finally managed to find the courage to say something. "You are probably wondering why I went into the bottle, what caused my nightmares and why I am running from my past, aren't you?" he asked to which his son nodded his head. Tony nodded his head and then slowly pulled his shirt sleeve up and turned so his son could see his right arm.

Xander could only look in horror as he noted the dark mark on his father's arm. He suddenly felt dizzy as he reached out and gripped the counter to steady himself.

"This is what I am running from Alex," Tony told him. "From my mistake of joining the damn Death Eaters when I was younger, for been stupid enough to listen to that deranged bastard Voldemort," he snarled, but the hatred was aimed at himself and not his son who could only stare at him. "The things I did, the horrors I witnessed nearly drove me insane which is why I fled Britain, just before the so called Dark Lord fell from what I hear," he explained with haunted eyes. "The mark faded and I thought it was over, then a few nights ago I felt a burning sensation in my arm and when I looked the mark had come back and I hit the bottle even harder," he continued. "He's back," he spat.

"I guessed as much from the old man's memories," Xander managed to say. "The war is beginning again. I intend to go to Britain and help Harry Potter finally put the bastard and his followers in their graves where they belong," he stated. "Dumbledore can't be trusted to help, he is not what people think he is," he added.

"Yeah Voldemort used to tell us that the old man hid behind his nice grandfatherly image and that behind it was a twisted power hungry man fit to be the Dark Lord's nemesis," Tony told him. "It was one of the reasons we feared him so, but you can't go back there Alex. It's suicide," he said and Xander was surprised to hear genuine worry for him in his father's tone.

"I have to and I am not going alone," Xander responded, his tone brokering no argument. "There is more going on than you know dad. Let me explain some things and then maybe, just maybe you'll understand why I have to do this," he offered.

Tony nodded reluctantly and they headed to the living room and sat down. He listened as his son talked and he began to wonder how in the hell had he missed so much? He also realized what his attempts to escape his past might have cost his son, he should have tried harder he thought bitterly.

+E+

(Outside the Summers residence)

Angel looked up at where Buffy's window was and had to fight the urge to climb up and try and talk to her, but he had decided now was not the time. He had seen Xander leave the house an hour before and he had to resist going after the annoying brat. It galled him to see that Xander was getting so close to Buffy. It made him wonder if the impossible had happened and Buffy had begun to actually like Xander in a romantic way. It made sense of the overly long hugs they had been given each other and why Buffy had suddenly broken up with him. A surge of anger shot through him at the thought. He turned to walk away only to find Buffy behind him, her arms crossed over her chest and an annoyed look on her face.

"Did you think I wouldn't sense you, Angel?" Buffy asked with a frown. "I've been feeling a vampire close by for almost two hours and I finally decided to check it out and what do and then I find you stalking me," she growled a little. "I told you we were done. Take the hint and leave it alone," she told him.

"No," Angel responded. "I love you Buffy and I know you love me," he argued. "I think I've finally figured out why you broke up with me," he added with new insight or at least what he thought was a new insight.

"Oh please... enlighten me?" Buffy replied with a roll of her eyes, as she had hoped Angel would just accept her reasoning and move on and not make a big deal out of it, but it seemed that had been a forlorn hope.

"Xander has used his new found magic to make you love him and break up with me," Angel told her. "It is the only thing that makes sense," he added. "There can be no other reason for what you did," he stated with an almost wild look in his eyes.

"God... ego much?" Buffy shot back as she uncrossed her arms and began to pace up and down. "Xander has done no such thing. He wouldn't do that," she told him with narrowed eyes. "I broke up with you for the exact reasons I gave you. I want a partner who can share my life with me completely in the day as well as the night," she explained, coming to a halt and glared at him. "It might be Xander. Then again it might not be. I don't know yet, but I am hoping to find out and you better learn to accept it," she warned him, her glare intensifying. "If you don't and if you begin to act in such a way that I think you might be a threat I will end you Angel," she stated with conviction before she turned and went back into her house, ignoring Angel's surprise gasp.

Angel let out another growl before he turned and stormed away. He could hardly believe she had said such things to him and it made him think his idea of Xander using magic on her was correct. Maybe he could get Giles to believe him. He knew how protective the watcher was of Buffy.

+E+

(Scotland, Hogwarts)

Harry stood looking out over the school grounds from the astronomy tower. He had come here to escape the looks and whispered conversations from his classmates. He just wanted some time to himself. In the distance on the lake he could see the Durmstrang ship. The ship would leave tomorrow taking Victor Krum and his fellow students back to their school, minus their headmaster Igor Karkaroff who had vanished. Leaning over the balcony he looked to where the Beauxbatons carriage was. It would leave tomorrow as well, taking Fleur Delacour, her sister and her classmates back. He had a brief desire to go with them, just to escape what he suspected was coming now that Voldemort was back before he shook that thought off.

"Are you okay Harry?" a soft voice asked from behind him, causing him to spin around to find Padma Patil behind him looking concerned.

"As well as I can be," Harry cautiously responded as he turned back to look out over the lake as Padma moved to join him.

He supposed it had been a good thing that he had apologized to both Padma and Parvati for the disaster that had been the Yule Ball. The twins had accepted his apology thankfully. He had enough enemies and did not need to go around making more out of his fellow students. Ron however had proven stubborn and refused to apologies to Padma as well. He couldn't tell if it was out of fear of facing Parvati after the way he had treated her or just a complete lack of care, but in the end he wasn't too surprised over the git. He still was surprised that Padma even went with Ron at all.

"I take it the whole school is still talking about what I said?" Harry asked with a dark look in his eyes.

"I think they will be discussing that for a long time to come Harry," Padma responded with a frown. "It is not every day you learn a nightmare has come back to haunt you," she added.

"Except most people don't believe me, do they?" Harry shot back as he glanced at her.

"Can you blame them Harry? Most people probably don't want to believe you, because of the fear they still feel for the Dark Lord," Padma replied calmly. "They have heard the stories, listened to their family talk about him and thus he still makes us tremble that we can't even say his name," she continued with a troubled look. "You weren't brought up with that fear Harry. The muggleborns don't understand the fear we have off him," she told him, finally returning his look. "If he is back, then we will have to find the courage to fight him once more, but I think a lot of people will refuse to believe until they have seen it with their own eyes, Harry," she went on. "Fear can make people do stupid things," she finished.

"Yeah I know," Harry replied with a nod of his head. "But whether they want to believe it or not, he is back and the sooner they accept it the better off they will be," he told her seriously. "Or this time he will win without much of a fight and if that happens everyone who sticks their heads in the sands will be spitting on the sacrifices made by those who fought him last time," he stated in a tone that showed how much different he was to nearly every other student Padma knew.

She didn't know what to say in reply to that and thus remained quiet and just stared out across the lake. Harry at least seemed to be at ease in her presence and that made her smile a little. She had not admitted to her sister that she was jealous that she had gone to the Yule ball with Harry instead of her, she was certain had their roles been reversed maybe things might have gone better. She had a crush on Harry she had to admit, however she was wary of trying to get close to him due to the constant presence of Hermione Granger, who usually seemed to be glued to his side. However Hermione was in the library right now, thus she had tracked Harry down to try and talk to him and ensure he was ok. She had a sneaking suspicion he was right about the Dark Lord being back. It was the way he had looked when he had come back from wherever it was the portkey had taken him. The sound of his voice as he spoke to the headmaster still chilled her. Things were changing and she was worried how they would face those changes.

"Do you believe me Padma?" Harry eventually inquired as he turned back to look her.

Padma faced him, her look once again troubled. "I don't want to Harry, but yes I actually think you are telling the truth. The way you looked and sounded when you came back from wherever it was you were sent could not be faked," she admitted. "It made me shiver to hear the true terror in your voice, to see in your eyes a truth I didn't want to see," she continued. "I think from this point on the world is going to be a very dark place, unless we can somehow send the Dark Lord back to wherever it is that he has been the last fourteen years," she stated.

"We have to do better than that this time, Padma," Harry responded, pleased she actually believed him, even if she didn't want to. At least she was honest in telling him that. "We have to ensure he stays gone this time or our children, if we have any, will have to face the threat somewhere down the road again," he pointed out, as he ran a tired hand through his hair.

Padma only nodded her head in agreement at this and they both went silent and wondered how things would play out. An hour later Hermione finally found them alongside Parvati, Luna and Neville. They were surprised to see the two together, but they didn't say anything and just joined them.


	7. Chapter 7

Note: Again not beta read, so if you find something that doesn't fit we would be thankful if you point us to it friendly.

Chapter 7

(Rosenberg House)

Willow had to force herself to calm down as she prepared to cast her love spell, finally Xander would be all hers and hers alone. No longer would she have to watch him fawn over Buffy and every other girl who was not her. Finally when she was ready she began to chant the spell she had found in one of her books. She had all the ingredients prepared and readied thus all what was needed was the spell itself. Her eyes darkened somewhat without her knowledge, she ignored any thought of the fact she was casting a dark magic spell on her best friend to bend him to her will. That was basically what the spell did, it would make Xander love her completely and wipe out his feelings for Buffy. Once that was done she could control him from that point on. She smiled at the thought as the spell reached its apex. The spell exploded outward in search of its target, drained Willow collapsed to the floor panting and sweating badly.

'It worked,' she thought giddy with glee. "I can't wait to see Xander," she said before she passed out.

+E+

(Harris household)

Xander lay on his bed still going over his rather startling discussion with his father. The shock of finding out he was a wizard and an ex Death Eater to boot was quite bad. It was the second revelation that stunned him more. The very thought of being the son of a Death Eater made him sick to his stomach. But at least now he knew why his father had been the way he had. Trying to escape ones past he could understand. It was something Dumbledore should have been doing, but the old man it seemed was either truly evil or just able to ignore the things he did in his pursuit of the so called 'greater good'. Before he could think or do anything else he was hit by a spell of some power, it was only due the fact he had inherited Dumbledore's natural resistance to magic and his Occlumency shields that the spell did not do whatever it was supposed to do straight away. He pulled his wand and quickly raised the strongest shield he knew. The power of the spell splashed against the shield for a few minutes before it faded out.

Dropping of his bed onto his knees he gasped as he dropped the shield and let out a snarl of anger. Someone had just tried to cast a very powerful spell on him and he would find out who had cast it. Once he had recovered he stood up and cast a unique detection charm the old man had devised, it quickly revealed who had been behind the spell. His eyes opened wide as he realized who had cast the spell, worse it had been a damn love spell she had tried to cast on him. His anger grew as he realized she had just crossed a line he had hoped never to see her pass over.

"Oh you are going to regret that Willow," he swore aloud. "Tomorrow will not be a good day for any of us," he spat as he decided to cast a few wards around his house to ensure anymore attempts by his red headed friend would not get through while he slept.

+EF+

(Sunnydale High, Library, next day)

Willow sat next to Buffy waiting for Xander's arrival which was due anytime now. She could hardly wait for him to arrive and start showing her the attention he always should have been giving her from day one. Giles was off the side reading a newspaper for once instead of an old book. Jenny Calendar sat beside him doing some marking she had forgotten to do the night before. The sudden noise of the doors to the library been shoved open almost forcibly made them all spin around. The doors banged against the wall as Xander stormed in and he did not look happy to any of the occupants already inside.

"Xander, is something wrong?" Giles asked as he stood up, his newspaper forgotten.

"Ask Willow," Xander shot back with a growl as his eyes pinned Willow to her seat.

Willow suddenly felt a wench in her gut; she did not see love in his eyes as she expected, she saw rage, anger and even a little hatred mixed in. 'How was it possible that her spell had failed? How had it not worked?' she asked herself.

"What does that mean?" Jenny cut in with a perplexed look, but she had a bad feeling something was about to happen.

"She tried to cast a god damn love spell on me last night," Xander exploded as his rage spiked.

Willow went pale as Xander spoke and she had to fight to control herself as Buffy and the others spun to look at her, she had to deny this anyway she could.

"I did not," she managed to retort with what she hoped was an angry upset tone. "I wouldn't do such a thing to you Xander, you know that," she added.

"DO NOT LIE TO ME," Xander shouted, almost losing control of himself and forcing Buffy to interpose herself between him and Willow who had begun to shake a little at the rage she saw from him directed sorely at her. "I know it was you Willow. The magic I control can tell me who cast a spell and what kind of spell it was, and guess what?" he asked sarcastically. "It was you and it was a love spell," he spat.

"Willow, is this true?" Giles demanded to know. He didn't doubt Xander one bit. He knew the things he could do with the magic he controlled. "The truth Willow," he ordered as the red head went to reply with what he was certain would be a lie.

Willow went red in the face at that and she knew Giles believed Xander and the look of Miss Calendar's face said the same. She looked at Buffy and noted she looked angered, yet she could also see some confusion in the blonde's eyes. "Buffy I didn't do it," she said.

"Yes you did and I can prove it," Xander said as he brought out his wand, making Willow instantly back off in fear. "Oh don't worry I'm not going to curse you. I'm just going to use a nifty little spell I know to show whether you cast any magic recently," he told her as he began the wand movements for it.

Willow couldn't help it and made a break for it only to be intercepted by Buffy. She noted the blond was now fully glaring at her. She glanced back to see Xander had stopped what he was doing and was watching her calmly with his arms crossed over his chest. Giles and Jenny looked very disappointed and she suddenly realized Xander had played her, her shoulders dropped in defeat.

"How could you Willow?" Jenny said with a shake of her head. "You have been told time and again how dangerous magic can be, that it is not to be used for such things," she lectured her.

"I'm sorry," was all Willow said.

"Sorry doesn't cut it," Giles retorted as he removed his glasses and began to polish them as he tried to gather his thoughts on how to handle this. "This is a serious matter and it must be dealt with before we leave for England," he stated as he put his glasses back on. "I am forbidding you to use anymore magic until we have discussed this and found a solution," he told her with a hard gaze. "Jenny and I will come over and remove all the spell books and ingredients you have there, until we can be certain you can use them properly," he stated.

Willow blanched in horror at the watcher's statement. She noted Jenny and Xander both nod in agreement with Giles. "That's not fair," she shouted.

"No, what is not fair is that you tried to take your best friend's choice from him," Giles shot back with a slight glare. "You have shown you can't be trust to wield such power just yet," he told her.

"Buffy tell them this is going too far," Willow demanded, turning to the blond who remained in front of her.

"I'm sorry Willow I agree with them," Buffy told her with a shake of her head, almost unable to believe what Willow had tried to do. "You crossed a line and now you have to pay for it," she stated.

Willow let out a sob as she charged past Buffy and fled the library. She couldn't believe her last gambit to win Xander had backfired so badly on her. Buffy watched her go with a sad look in her eyes. It was mirrored in the eyes of Xander, Giles and Jenny.

+EF+

(LA)

Nate smiled as he put the phone down as Chloe came out of the shower dressed in nothing but a towel, which didn't a good job to hide anything. He leaned against the wall and watched as she made her way over to the bed where her clothes lay. He knew she knew he was watching her, but she did nothing to stop him. He watched as she undid the towel and let it drop the floor giving him a full on look at her naked body that never failed to gain his full attention.

"You are beautiful," Nate couldn't help to say as she pulled her panties on, making her glance up at him with a smile.

"Thank you," Chloe responded as she put her trousers on. "I always like hearing you say that," she added.

"I got through to Sully and Charlie and they've agreed to help out," Nate told her, turning serious as she put her bra on hiding her breasts from his view before she finally put her t-shirt on.

"And Lara?" Chloe inquired with a touch of jealously in her tone that Nate had no trouble detecting.

"Lara is in too," Nate told her with a sigh as he ran a hand through his hair. "We are all meeting up at her manor," he added. "Once we have a plan of action, we'll move out and get that artifact back from Vintoz no matter what it takes," he explained.

"Wonderful," Chloe responded as she dropped onto the bed with a sigh. "When do we leave?" she asked as she felt him join her and pull her into his side.

"We head for the airport at twelve and our plane leaves at twelve thirty," Nate answered. "We have another two hours to go, want to go and get something to eat?" he asked.

"Why not?" Chloe replied, hoping it would distract her from her worry about their meeting with Lara Croft, a woman she knew had a history with Nate.

While she knew Nate loved her not just for her looks she knew Lara Croft was to most men a goddess and men constantly tried to get her attention. Nate had for a time gotten her attention, as they were in the same kind of business that should not be a surprise. She didn't know the full details of their relationship, but she feared what would happen when they met up again. She did her best to push her fear and jealously away as it wouldn't do her any good in the long run. She should have more faith in Nate and the love they shared. Nate noted the look in her eyes and just prayed he didn't do anything stupid when they met Lara. He was happy where he was in his life, especially his relationship with Chloe and he did not want to do anything to jeopardize that.

+EF+

(Rosenberg House, two days later)

Willow lay curled up on her bed glaring at the wall as the events of the last couple of days replayed themselves constantly in her head. Everything had gone wrong for her and she was angered beyond all belief by what the others had done to her in response to her actions. She had thought she would be happy once the love spell was cast, but she was not. She was enraged and lost in a sea of loss and sadness. Xander wouldn't speak to her, hell he would barely even acknowledge her and that really annoyed her. Buffy only rarely spoke to her at the moment. She was unsure how to treat the redhead now that she knew what she had tried to do to Xander. Giles and Jenny were constantly trying to get her to understand that what she had done was wrong, that she had crossed a line that should never be crossed. They had taken all her books and spell ingredients and other magical instruments. That was a major source of her rage having to watch that and been treated like a child.

The thing that caused the most pain was the fact that Oz had somehow found out what she had done, she believed Cordelia had a hand in that as Xander had told the brunette what she had done. She didn't doubt for an instant that Cordelia would do such a thing. Oz had shown more emotion than she was used to seeing from him as they argued over everything. He had broken up with her and kept his distant from her, the group when it came together was a very quiet one these days. Her eyes strayed to the nearby desk where she had hidden a written copy of the love spell she had used. She still didn't know why she had done so. Maybe she knew what might happen should she be found out, or maybe she just wanted a second chance to get Xander to be hers and hers alone. She had nothing left to loose now, she allowed her anger to drive her as she sat up. She decided to go the magic shop and buy the things she would need to cast the spell once more, only this time she would use all the power she possessed to make it work.

+EF+

(Hotel, England)

Nate yawned as he blinked his eyes tiredly. He looked around the darkened hotel room he was in and felt Chloe curled up to his side. He smiled as he trailed a finger lightly over her face. She shifted a little at his touch, but didn't wake up. Their trip to England from L.A had not been easy. First their flight had been delayed twice and thus they hadn't left L.A the day after their scheduled flight much to their annoyance. Once they had gotten to England and left the airport they had been attacked by Vintoz's men, which must have been keeping an eye out for him and Chloe. It had been no easy task avoiding and then losing them. As soon as they had evaded them he had contacted Lara worried about Sully and Charlie. He was relieved to hear that both had arrived at Croft Manor without incidence, clearly Vintoz had not expected him to call in help.

Sully was like a father to him, hell if he was honest Sully could be considered his father. The man had raised him from the day he had tried to steal his wallet as young street kid. They had been through so damn much together and a lot of his values and views he got from Sully. He was not just a thief anymore like he had been when they first met, he considered himself a good guy who did his best to do the right thing, even if it cost him whatever it was they were searching for. His last three big adventures had been proof positive of that. Granted the adventures since then had been just as dangerous which is why he had lost Elena, someone Sully was very fond of. Sadly his constant risking of his life as well as those close to him had proved too much for Elena in the end and so they had separated permanently. Chloe had the same fears as Elena, but she understood what drove Nate to do what he did and she was prepared to follow him into whatever madness they were mixed up in. Charlie could be considered his best friend if you excluded Sully, he was one of the few in their line of business who could be trusted to have their backs and not to betray them and Lara was another person like that. He didn't want to put their lives at risk once more, but they all understood the risks of what they did. Plus he believed it was worth the risk to stop Vintoz from releasing whatever evil was hidden in the locket on the world. Glancing at Chloe he hoped one day he could finally resist the urge for adventures and settle down with her, but whether he and Chloe could resist that urge was a question he couldn't answer and he doubted Chloe could either.

+EF+

(Rosenberg House)

Willow sat cross legged as she stared down at the written down spell. Everything was prepared for the casting yet she hesitated. 'Should she do this?' she wondered. If it failed then she would be in even more trouble that she was already in, however she was certain putting all her power into the casting would be enough to overwhelm Xander's own power and make him hers finally. After losing so much she felt she was owed something. Taking a deep breath she began to chant. The power built as she put more and more of her power into the spell. Magic swirled around her as she neared the end, when the spell reached its climax the spell exploded outward once more in search of its target. However Willow had underestimated the result of putting so much power into the spell and so was flung backwards into her bed causing her to yell out in pain before she slumped to the floor unconscious, completely drained of energy.

+EF+

(Harris Household)

Xander sat at his desk trying to work out things he would need to do once they reached England, he had no clue what the situation was in magical Britain right now. How was Harry Potter? Would Dumbledore prove more of a problem than he already believed he would be? Would the old man realize or was he already somehow aware that Xander had his powers and memories? Too many questions and not enough answers Xander thought bitterly as he looked out his window. Tony had tried multiple times to convince him not to go to England, but he assured his father he had to go and ensure Voldemort was killed permanently this time. Tony had finally relented. Being sober for three days had done wonders for his father's ability to think logically. He'd had a heart to heart with Jessica although he had left out the true horrors of his past; the two were slowly beginning to mend their relationship much to Xander's surprise. After that his father had given him a key which would grant him access to their family vault at Gringotts.

Any thought about Willow and what she had tried to do to him was quickly pushed away, he could barely stomach thinking about what his oldest friend had tried to do, but before he could think or do anything else the wave of magic from Willow assaulted him. It was so strong it blasted him from his chair to the floor, where he quickly climbed to his knees as he tried to fight this new attack off. He didn't kid himself for a minute as to who was behind this latest attack. It had to be Willow once more trying to make him fall in love with her. Using his anger he tried to form his shield, but he quickly realized it was too much for a shield. The only hope he had was to redirect the spell to someone else and he had the perfect candidate in mind. Forcing all his power into rebounding the spell onto Angel he focused as hard as he could on that one goal. Slowly he felt the magic being pushed back until a few minutes later the spell was diverted away from him and straight for Angel. Smirking a little he collapsed to the floor and passed out. Using all his power had drained him badly and he vowed to make Willow pay for what she had done.

+EF+

(Summer's Residence)

Buffy tapped her foot in growing annoyance, as Angel continued to try and convince her that Xander had used his new magic powers to make her fall in love with him. For three days the souled vampire had stalked her on and off patrols, constantly trying to convince her to take him back and that her new found romantic feelings for Xander were false. She was reaching her wits end with him, and she berated herself for not seeing this side of Angel before. Had she been so smitten with him that she had not allowed herself to see the worse traits Angel had? The honest answer was probably yes she had been. She glared at Angel as he paused as he tried to think of what else he could say to convince her of his argument.

Before he could say anything he staggered as the love spell hit him full force, however due to two factors, one his status as a vampire and second, that it had been rebounded, it did not make Angel fall in love with Willow. Instead it amplified his love for Buffy beyond anything he could control. He snarled as she turned to leave and he ended up slamming her up against a nearby tree capturing her off guard. He quickly tried to grope her breasts as she screamed out in pain and fear. He used other hand to force her hands above her head as the other trailed over her left breasts. Buffy panicked and did the only thing she could think of and head-butted Angel, capturing him enough to back off from her and let her go. Acting on instinct she kicked him in the balls making him collapse in agony as she pulled her stake and staked him before he could recover.

Joyce ran out of the house a moment later having heard her daughter's scream. "Buffy what is it?" Joyce asked as she watched in concern as Buffy stumbled backwards dropping her stake and beginning to shake.

"He tried to rape me," Buffy stuttered in shock as she feel into her Mother's arms. "Angel tried to force himself on me as if stalking me was not bad enough," she spat. "I staked him," she muttered.

Joyce could hardly believe what she was being told, but she quickly pulled her daughter back into the house, she doubted Buffy would be able to think, let alone fight if they were attacked. She doubted this night was going to be a good one for either her or Buffy. Setting her daughter down on the chair she reached for the phone and called Giles to inform him of what had happened. She then sat herself down and tried to help her daughter work through what had happened.

+EF+

(Sunnydale High School, next day)

Buffy sat in between Giles and Joyce as they waited for Jenny and Xander to arrive. Cordelia, Oz and Willow had already arrived although none of them would speak to the other. While they were all still committed to the fight the group's friendships had been broken after what Willow had done and Giles feared it might never be repaired. Jenny final arrived five minutes later with Xander storming in right behind her. Giles and the others could all see he was as pissed as he was a few days before, if not more so.

As Xander saw Willow he pulled his want and yelled "Petrificus Totalus." At the shocked faces of the other Xander spat, "SHE DID IT AGAIN."

"Excuse me?" Giles inquired not understanding what Xander meant as his mind was still processing everything Joyce had told him last night.

"Willow tried the love spell again last night, this time she put so much power into it that it almost worked," Xander shot back as he locked his gaze on Willow.

Willow tried to get up back away from him as Oz and the others glanced between them, but thanks to Xander's spell couldn't move an inch. Only Buffy remained looking at the table, still lost in her own thoughts, she barely heard the argument that was brewing.

"The only way I was able to fight it off was rebounding it off me onto someone else," Xander explained, keeping his gaze pinned on Willow. "Not exactly a nice thing to do to someone, but as it was dead boy I thought it wouldn't hurt anyone else," he added.

"Oh lord," Giles exclaimed as he glanced at Buffy as Xander said this and things began to make sense.

According to Buffy Angel had staggered as if he was been attacked before he had tried to force himself on her. If Xander had indeed rebounded a full powered love spell onto him it was possible it had driven Angel into a frenzy and thus hadn't been in control of his actions. Granted Xander could not have known Angel would have been anywhere near Buffy at the time, if as he said it almost worked then he most likely acted on instinct to save himself.

"I am afraid Xander that your actions had unforeseen consequences," Giles finally responded. "Angel was with Buffy at the time and I believe the love spell being rebounded drove him into a frenzy of sorts and he tried to rape Buffy, forcing her to stake him," he informed Xander, who went pale at hearing this.

"Oh god," Xander said in shock as he looked to the silent blond haired Slayer. He stumbled over to her and knelt next to her. "I didn't know Buffy I swear I didn't know," he told her as she finally looked him in the eye. "This is my fault, I should have taken into consideration where he would be," he said in self-loathing.

"No it is not your fault Xander, it is Willow's," Jenny interrupted him with a hand on his shoulder. "You were fighting off an attack and had little time to think of a plan of action. You did what you had to with what facts you had," she told him. "Willow is to blame here for putting you into that position even after what happened the last time. Rupert I think you know what has to happen now?" she added, turning to Giles who reluctantly nodded his head in agreement.

"Gilles," Willow tried to say but couldn't say a word due to being bound by Xander.

Giles looked at her and growled at her with a glare that would have made her back away in fear if she could. "Your actions disgust me and they have had terrible effects for Buffy and Xander that you and they will have to deal with," he told her. "You will be stripped of your powers permanently as I do not think you have what it takes to control magic or to use it responsibly," he added. "Now keep sitting down and being quiet, while I try and help Xander understand he is not at fault for what Angel did. You will be bound before you leave here and if you think of running you will regret it," he warned her.

Willow wanted to collapse to the ground and bury her head into her hands as she realized she had lost everything now and Xander would never be hers, but still being under Xander's spell she couldn't she began to drive her crazy. Cordelia glared at her while Oz looked conflicted. Jenny ignored her and did her best to get Xander to realize he was not at fault for the attack on Buffy. Joyce was concerned for both teenagers as Xander was now as silent as Buffy. She did glance at Willow and couldn't help herself but to glare at her for causing this.

+EF+

(Hogwarts Express, on its way to London)

Finally the last days of school for this year were over and they all were on their way home, or something like that. Harry sat in a compartment of the train only together with Hermione at the moment. Luna and Neville had left a few minutes again, because Luna wanted to inspect Neville for some of her imaginary creatures. Harry had to smile at that thought. The two had really become close in the last year and Neville finally had the gut to ask her to be his girlfriend just before the Yule Ball.

"What are you smiling about Harry?" Hermione asked curios, because she liked to see Harry smile, but sadly that didn't happen too often.

"Oh nothing Mione. I just had to think about how Neville finally asked Luna out," he replied with a smirk.

At that Hermione had to smile as well. "Yes, that was a long time overdue and they look good together, don't they?" she asked her friend with a smile that made her look like the sun, at least in Harry's opinion and so he could only nod in response.

They talked a bit more about Luna and Neville until Hermione asked, "So what was that about Ron storming away bright as a tomato from you this morning as I entered the hall?"

Harry shook his head sadly before he replied, "He came to me this morning like we still were the best mates and that last year didn't happen at all. No apology nothing at all and so I asked him what he wanted and he replied he just wanted to hang out with his best mate. As I looked at him strangely and then asked him why he came to me then, he stormed away like you saw."

Hermione shook her head in disbelieve and was quiet for a few moments. "I just can't understand him, but frankly I don't want to anymore. I think we did quite well without him this year and we became good friends with Neville, Luna, Tracy and Daphne."

"Yes, but it is still a shame. He was my first friend ever, but in retrospect I must ask myself if he ever was my friend or just 'the boy who lived' ones," Harry said in a quiet tone.

Noting his mood turning sour Hermione pulled Harry into a hug, but before Harry could revel in this feeling Hermione startled him with her next question. "So what's up with you and Daphne?

"What?" Harry asked surprised. "Daphne and me? What do you mean?"

Hermione looked at her friend and smiled. "So you didn't notice that she has a huge crush on you?"

Harry looked in disbelieve at his friend and was silent for a moment, then shook his head. "No, I didn't. I mean I like Daphne, but only as a friend, nothing more."

Hermione had to smile at that and still enjoying the warmth that Harry gave off, she continued, "So you like her just as a friend? Anyone else you do fancy?" she asked innocently.

Noting that he was still in Hermione's arms he blushed and muttered in such a low tone that Hermione nearly didn't understand him. "Yes, there is."

Smiling again Hermione said, "So it's Tracy or one of the twins then? I would never have guessed."

Jumping out of Hermione's arms he turned around to face her and muttered, "Tracy? The twins? No, it's you that I fancy. I…i...i…," he said and realizing what he just said he blushed deeply and turned around to run out of the compartment.

"Harry James Potter, don't you dare to run out on me," Hermione said in a fierce tone, which stopped Harry on the spot and Hermione couldn't help but to smile at the 'deer caught in the headlight' look on Harry's face. Seeing that Harry was still in 'flee and flight' mode she said quietly, "Sit down Harry, please?"

Harry nodded and still a bit red faced he sat down again.

"I'm sorry Harry," Hermione said and seeing the look of panic in Harry's eyes she quickly continued. "I shouldn't have teased you like that, but I just didn't want to wait anymore for you finally coming out and saying you like me more than a friend. I waited and hoped to long for that already and I just feared you would turn to someone else instead," she said quietly.

Harry looked a bit dumbfounded at Hermione and after a few moments finally said, "You...you…teased that out of me and you are not angry that I see more in you than a friend?"

"No you dofus...," she said smiling. "I noted how you changed to look at me last year from the beginning and hoped you would come out and ask me to be your girlfriend, but you never did. While having some 'girltalk' with Daphne, Luna and Tracy I realized that you probably would never do so and so I decided to act. I hope you are not angry with me?" she finished in an unsure tone.

Harry looked at her quite a while and a bit speechless and as he continued to be quite Hermione started to become nervous. But before she could say anything Harry suddenly pulled her into an embrace. "No I'm not angry with you and you are right. I would have continued to dream of you until some other lucky guy would have snatched you away from me. So to do it right," he said and then continued. "Hermione…will you be my girlfriend?"

Smiling Hermione answered without words by giving Harry a short kiss, which quickly turned into a longer one. Several minutes and still kissing later Harry heard how the door to their compartment was ripped open and a voice said, "How disgusting… kissing a mudblood." Then Harry saw how Draco pointed his wand at Hermione and yelled "Sectumsem…"

Before Draco could finish the spell Harry pulled Hermione down to the floor and before he could pull his wand he heard several more spells being cast.


End file.
